Worlds Collide
by DammitimmaD
Summary: This is my first fanfic so please don't be mean! This is a story when MI6 owe CHERUB a favour and they send in Alex Rider as protection for the cherubs PLEASE R
1. Chapter 1

James looked around him, he was sitting in Zara's office with Kerry, Lauren and, surprisingly, Kyle, who had come in just for this meeting.

Zara looked at each of them in turn. "Now, this mission has been rated extremely dangerous" She explained, handing out the information sheets to each of them. "But MI6 owes us a favour, so they've sent in their best agent to go undercover with you guys for protection" She said.

"Whose the agent?" James asked as he took the pamphlet.

"I haven't met him yet, but apparently he is at the very top. His name is Alex Rider but we haven't been given much else other than he speaks five languages, he is a fifth Dan black belt, he's had SAS training and has encountered one of the groups before" Zara explained. "Ewart is picking him up from MI6 headquarters now, he should be here soon. They got stuck in traffic"

James looked down at the briefing.

"Have you read through it yet?" James asked Zara, she shook her head. "No, I was going to read it when Mr Rider arrived, but Ewart will be late, so we'll read ahead of them"

****CLASSIFIED****

MISSION BRIEFING 

FOR JAMES ADAMS, LAUREN ADAMS, 

KYLE BLUEMAN, KERRY CHANG AND ALEX RIDER

DO NOT REMOVE FROM ROOM 812

DO NOT COPY OR MAKE NOTES

_HELP EARTH_

_This eco-terrorist group has been encountered before by CHERUB, once by Lauren Adams and twice by James Adams. All other agents have been updated previously to what Help Earth is and what it does. Help Earth are planning to destroy a series of important power plants that would cause widespread panic amongst Britain and America, where the attacks will take place. They are being aided by a few remaining members of the terrorist organisation SCORPIA. Neil Jonathan has been named as one of the major leaders of Help Earth which is where CHERUB come into the investigation to find evidence against him. Neil has five children George (Seventeen), Michael (Sixteen),, Melanie (Fifteen) Katie (Fourteen) and is married to Leah Jonathan._

_SCORPIA_

_This organisation is a terrorist agency that are paid to do their job. They use many different forms of this, torture, assassination, bombs, etc. They were destroyed by Alex Rider, *SEE FILE* shortly before they ordered his assassination. Rider survived the attempt and has now returned to continue his mission, and to provide protection for the CHERUB agents. SCORPIA have invested in Help Earth to try and rebuild their empire._

_MISSION PLAN_

_Mission controllers Zara and Ewart Asker will move into a house in the Jonathan housing estate with their baby son, four CHERUB and MI6 agent. For the purposes of this mission, Kyle Blueman and Kerry Chang will be adopted while Alex Rider, Joshua Asker, and James and Lauren Adams . The family surname will be Roberts and to avoid confusion, all agents will keep their first names. _

_PRIMARY OBJECTIVE_

_From the work of James and Lauren Adams and Alex Rider, MI5 has been able to discover some of the leaders of Help Earth and SCORPIA. One of these leaders that came up in both investigations was Neil Jonathan. Neil has five children that he is very close to. Each agent has been selected to befriend children of Neil Jonathans as follows._

_ James Adams — Michael Jonathan_

_ Kyle Blueman — George Jonathan_

_ Lauren Adams — Katie Jonathan_

_ Kerry Chang — Melanie Jonathan_

_ Alex Rider — Aim to befriend any of the _

_ children. Either of the girls or Michael._

_If agents succeed in making friends, they must attempt to socialise out of school and try to get inside Neil's home, gathering information wherever possible. Each agent will be placed in the same tutor group as the child they are supposed to befriend. All agents have kept their date of birth except for Kerry Chang who will be placed back a year to be the same age as Melanie Jonathan._

_NOTE: ON THE 18TH OF AUGUST 2010 THIS MISSION PLAN WAS PASSED BY THE CHERUB ETHICS COMMITTEE BY A 2:1 VOTE, ON CONDITION THAT ALL AGENTS UNDERSTAND THE FOLLOWING:_

_This mission has been rated HIGH RISK. All agents are reminded of their right to refuse to undertake a mission and to withdraw at any time. Agents will be at risk of violence and chemicals. _

The cherubs looked at Zara. "If the MI6 agent is supposed to become friends with Melanie, Katie or Michael, that means he would be around fifteen years old" Kerry said uncertainly. "Surely they wouldn't send in an adult to try and befriend kids" She added.

Zara nodded, she was looking through the mission briefing for a second time just to make sure.

There was a knock at the door and Ewart entered quickly moving over to Zara's desk.

"Zara, we need to talk about this MI6 agent" He said firmly.

Zara nodded and stood up, following Ewart outside and closing the door.

Lauren looked at Kerry, who looked at Kyle, who looked at James, who shrugged. "I've never heard of him before" James said. "I haven't even met someone called Alex"

"He's not from any of my missions. So he's got to be an adult. MI6 are special operations. They deal with a lot of the _really_ dangerous stuff. More dangerous than our missions. An ethics committee would never allow a kid into that" Kerry added.  
Kyle nodded in agreement. "It cant be a kid. He's a fifth Dan black belt in Karate. Not even Bruce is that high, Bruce is about a third Dan almost at fourth. But the age that this is implying is that he's around fifteen years old"  
Lauren agreed. "Yeah, he cant be fluent in five languages at fifteen. James can barely catch onto English" She smiled playfully at her brother as he chuckled.

"And SAS training" James added. "Kids aren't allowed at SAS camps. Its not allowed. Sure basic training is hard, but SAS training is like that for adults. No kid could pass that. Most kids can barely pass CHERUB training"

They all nodded in agreement. "He's got to be an adult" Kerry concluded as the door opened and Zara entered, Ewart behind her, blocking the doorway so that they couldn't see behind him.

"Kids, this is MI6 agent Alex Rider" She said, frowning slightly at the thought. Zara turned and Ewart stepped aside to reveal a blond hair boy, he was holding Joshua on his hip, smiling at the young boy who seemed very content with Alex as a surrogate brother for now.

Kerry stared at the kid in shock, he would have been fifteen years old at the most, his long blond hair was flicked to the side revealing a handsome face. His body was quite thin, if slightly malnourished but Kerry could see the muscles rippling in his bare arms as he held Joshua. The boy was wearing some black jeans and a orange t-shirt, signalling that he was a visitor. Kerry watched the boy cautiously, he moved swiftly and efficiently, not to mention silently. Kerry thought for a moment, if he had been older and not holding a baby so fondly she would have thought he were some sort of assassin. His blue eyes were twinkling slightly as he smiled down at Joshua.

"Alex is nice!" Joshua cooed, hugging Alex's shirt as Zara moved forward, smiling slightly. "He's just like James!"

Alex smiled, allowing Zara to remove her son from his arms, much to Joshua's annoyance.

"Come on hun" Zara said. "James is here"  
Joshua smiled over at James. "Hi James!" He called, waving frantically.

James chuckled, waving back at the young boy as he turned back to his mother. "Can I have Alex back?" He asked.

Zara laughed at this, handing the boy back over to Alex, who smiled, taking the remaining seat beside Lauren.

Joshua sat happily on Alex's lap as the teenager quickly read through the mission briefing.

He nodded slightly and looked back at Zara. "I've got my own orders to follow as well" He said to her.

"What are they?" She asked.

"Apparently, because I'm here for your protection, if anyone gets into trouble, your agents have to run" Alex said. "No matter what, you have to get out of the situation, even if you leave me behind. I'm supposed to handle it"

Zara looked appalled. "No one would leave you behind Alex! Your fourteen!"  
Alex shrugged. "Didn't stop people from doing it before. But those are my orders. They altered my appearance slightly. The shape of my face, eye colour, they died my hair to match James and Lauren Adams. I look much different than what I did before. Neil would know about me, most people from SCORPIA do"

The cherubs were still staring at Alex who sat very relaxed in the office, he looked over at them. "Not meaning to be rude. But whose who?" He asked.

"James"

"Kyle"

"Kerry"  
"Lauren"  
Alex nodded, memorising the names for a second before looking back at Zara. "We're meant to start this in a month" He said. "To get everything planned. But apparently I'm staying here"  
Zara nodded, looking down at the file she had been given. "What do you parents say about you spying?" She asked. "I assume they were the ones that got you involved?"

Alex shook his head. "My parents died when I was a baby. My uncle was secretly training me to be a spy since I could walk. When he died MI6 sent me in to finish his mission. I've been on more since I completed that one" Alex explained.

Zara nodded understandingly. "The CHERUB agents here are all orphans too" She explained. "How many missions have you done for MI6?"

"About eight" He replied, he looked at the mission briefing.

Zara nodded looking over at James. "James, we'll get Meryl to get another bed set up in your room. Your can share with Alex for the month. Just take him to all of your classes. Show him around campus"  
"Do people know he's MI6?" Lauren asked.  
Zara shook his head. "But its not a problem if they do" She looked over at Alex. "But you cant talk about things that are classified" She ordered him.

Alex smiled at her. "Yes Ma'am" He nodded.

Zara chuckled and looked at her son. "Joshua, Alex and James have to go now" She said. "You'll see them soon"  
Joshua nodded, giving Alex a hug before leaping onto the ground. Zara handed Alex a black shirt and smiled at the others shocked reaction. "He's an accomplished MI6 spy" She replied. "Your lucky we didn't make up a whole new colour just for him" She said to them.

They nodded and Alex quickly slipped into the new shirt.

James stood up. "Lets show you around a bit" He said, stretching his arms, he looked at Zara. "How long before I've got to go back to class?" He asked.  
"You can have today off" She replied, turning to the others. "Lauren, Kerry. Class for both of you. Kyle, you need to go and sort out you and Alex's rooms with Meryl"  
Alex stood up and followed to older boy from the room.


	2. Chapter 2

**AN: Thanks for the reviews guys! I decided to do what you said and make Alex a bit darker :) and more withdrawn. So hope you like it! R&R please**

"So your fourteen?" James asked as he lead Alex through the maze of corridors and towards the lunch area.

Alex nodded silently, the CHERUB agent could see that he was analysing his surroundings carefully, taking in every single detail.

"Are your missions really dangerous?" James asked as they came out of the building and began walking towards another.

Alex frowned and nodded reluctantly, he kept his head down and continued his analysis of the CHERUB campus, noting the exits, places to hide, and good sniper positions. He had done this ever since his last encounter with SCORPIA.

"You killed before?" James asked curiously, although Alex looked like any other kid around, there was something about his eyes. They weren't exactly natural.

"I do what I have to do to stay alive" Was the blunt reply.

James nodded, deciding that he wasn't going to get much information out of the spy. "We'll grab some lunch first" James said, walking into the cafeteria where cherubs were lining up for lunch.

"What's with the black shirt?" Alex asked as he noticed the different coloured shirts that were nearby.

"Rank" James replied. "Orange is for visitors, only people with clearance from Zara can talk to visitors. Red is for younger kids that are being educated on CHERUB campus. At ten years old you can do basic training, which is absolutely horrible, they have a pale blue shirt. When you finish that you get a grey shirt. After that if you perform highly on missions you can get a navy shirt, the really good agents get a black shirt. Like us. White shirts are for retired cherubs and for the staff"

"How old are you?" Alex asked, looking up at James.

"I'm sixteen, almost ready to retire from CHERUB. But I'm going into work with MI5 after this. Become a full agent"

Alex nodded, absorbing the information as James lead him over to where they could collect their food.

"JAMES!" Came Bruce's voice from behind him.

James turned to see the teenager bound over to them and stop short at the sight of Alex's black shirt.

Bruce frowned. "Whose he?" He asked. "And why has he got a black shirt?"

"This is Alex" James replied. "He works for MI6. We're doing a mission in a while and the ethics committee wanted protection for us" James smiled. "So CHERUB asked MI6 a favour and they gave us Alex" James nodded to the boy beside him.

Bruce nodded sceptically. "Protection?" He asked.

"Alex is fifth Dan Black Belt" James replied, waiting for other boys reaction.

Sure enough he didn't have to wait long because Bruce's eyes grew huge as he stared at Alex, grinning. "Meet me in the dojo after you eat" He grinned. "I've never fought anyone better than a third Dan"

Alex gave him a small, amused, smile and nodded. "Alright" He said.

Bruce then bounded off again to go and find Kerry, who had to talk with her teacher.

James lead Alex and his lunch over to a free table, sitting beside him and looking up as Gabrielle sauntered towards them.

"Hey Jam—" She cut herself off as she caught sight of Alex. "Whose the kid in the black shirt?" She asked irritably. "He was in a visitors shirt last time I saw him. You cant just go straight to black shirt"

James smiled at Gabrielle. "Alex is MI6" He said, watching Gabrielle's eyes grow wide and she took a seat across from them. "CHERUB called in a favour from MI6 because our mission almost didn't pass the ethics committee. So MI6 gave us Alex"

Gabrielle raised an eyebrow. "For protection?" She asked.

James grinned, laying an arm over Alex's shoulders. "He's a fifth Dan black belt, he trained with the SAS and he speaks five languages" James replied.

Gabrielle looked at Alex who nodded slightly. "How old are you?" She asked in disbelief.

"Nearly fifteen" Alex said.

"YOUR FOURTEEN?" Gabrielle all but screamed.

Everyone in the cafeteria instantly went quiet, everyone noticing Alex for the first time.

"WHOSE THE DORK IN THE BLACK SHIRT!" One of the older kids yelled angrily, he was still a grey shirt.

James sighed and stood up, pulling Alex up with him.

"This is Alex!" James said loudly. "He's from MI6 and can kick your arses any day! So don't piss him off! If anyone bugs him they'll have Zara on their case because he's needed for a mission in a month!"

James then sat down again, pulling Alex down again. He looked back at Gabrielle who was staring at Alex with her mouth hanging open.

"What else can you do?" Gabrielle asked him after everyone went back to eating.

Alex shrugged. "This and that" He replied. "I've learnt a lot of things"

"Shooting?" James asked.

Alex nodded. "From the best" He said dryly.

Gabrielle frowned. "Aren't the best shooters, assassins"

Alex didn't reply, instead he continued with his lunch.

Gabrielle and James nodded silently, trying to comprehend what Alex had gone through. The kid was obviously haunted and withdrawn, but James couldn't figure out why his eyes didn't show it.

Suddenly James remembered something Alex had told them in Zara's office. He had surgery on his eyes to change their colour, so that he looked like James and Lauren. Maybe they had done something then.

"When did you start working for MI6?" Gabrielle asked as Kerry, Lauren, Brittany, Kyle and Bruce joined them.

"About a year" Alex replied shortly.

Brittany smiled cutely at Alex. "So I hear your MI6" She said, batting her eyelashes.

Alex instantly realised she was flirting and nodded, looking over at James to take the spotlight away from him.

"No way. Alex could kick your arse any day!" James was saying cockily.

Bruce scoffed. "Yeah, sure" He replied sarcastically.

"Come one" James said, pulling Alex to his feet. "We're doing this now" He grabbed Bruce's arm, pulling both boys to the dojo.

Bruce smiled innocently at Alex as James lead them to the centre of the room.

"First one to pin the other to the floor wins" James said, standing back as Bruce moved towards Alex, who was standing with his feet slightly apart, waiting for Bruce to strike.

Bruce moved forward with lightening fast speed, arming a kick at Alex's stomach, but the younger boy was already moving, he spun around, grabbed Bruce's leg and had him pinned to the ground in only a few seconds.

The dojo was silent as Alex sprung to his feet, standing back as Bruce jumped up again.

"How—?" He began but Alex shrugged.

"You learn quickly when the only options are fight or die"

Bruce was still awed by Alex's speed and simply nodded dumbly.

James stood dumbfounded, his mouth hanging open. This kid had managed to beat Bruce in less than three seconds. The kid was quick, faster than Bruce. There was no one on campus that was faster than Bruce.

Bruce pounced forward, attacking Alex with a series of quick hits and kicks, Alex blocked every single one of them, simply batting Bruce's hand away before ducking down and knocking Bruce to the ground again, his arms pinned down at his sides.

Bruce grinned at Alex. "Your good kid" He told him.

Alex smiled slightly as he let Bruce off of the ground. "Thanks"

"But I will beat you by the time you leave" Bruce promised, still grinning.

Alex raised an eyebrow. "Sure"

They left the dojo quickly, James saying that he had to take Alex back to get settled in.

Word was quickly spreading that there was an MI6 agent in CHERUB and the agents were all eager to see his skills put into action.

One of the older boys jogged over towards James. "Hey James!" He called, looking over at Alex. "Can we take your little brother to the shooting range?" The boy grinned.

"He aint my brother" Was James' reply. "And I'm taking him back to our room"

The boy scoffed. "He looks just like you. And I wanna show him some moves he could use"

Alex frowned slightly and looked over at James, shrugging. "It wont take long" Alex said, he wanted everyone off of his case as soon as possible, and if it meant shooting a few targets to make his life easier, he'd do it.

James nodded reluctantly as they followed the older boy to the shooting range.

Alex was handed a gun, he weighed it in his hand for a few seconds, looking up at the other boy. "What do you want me to hit?" He asked.

The boy snorted with laughter. "Why don't we try something simple" He replied, pointing to a large board with a huge circle in the middle of it.

"Try to hit the board" The boy said.

Alex shrugged, his eyes still on the older boy as he raised the gun and fired once, not bothering to even look at the target, he knew where it was and he could shoot instinctively.

The boy scowled, looking over at his score.

It was directly in the centre of the circle.

The boy gave Alex a surprised look and pointed to some of the moving targets.

Alex looked over at them, firing twelve times in less than five seconds.

Again all shots were directly in the centre.

"Who taught you how to shoot?" The boy asked, in disbelief.

Alex didn't reply, he handed the older boy the gun and walked back to where James was standing.

"Hey kid!"

Alex turned to the boy again.

"I asked you a question!" He said angrily, moving towards Alex.

"And I chose to ignore it" Alex said, crossing his arms over his chest.

"Just answer the damn question. Where'd you learn how to shoot?"

Alex narrowed his eyes. "That's classified" Alex said firmly before turning and walking back to James.

**There you go! Next chap will be up soon! Please review! :)**


	3. Chapter 3

**AN: Thanks for the reviews guys! I'm trying to update pretty quick, cuz i don't wanna loose you guys reading it! Hoping I'm not going to be like all of those others who get you hooked then never update! :D R&R! Just tell me what you think so I can improve for the future! :)**

James lead Alex back to their room silently, he watched the fourteen year old carefully as he opened the door, allowing Alex to follow him in.

"So this is our room" James said, pointing to the newly added bed in the corner. "That's your bed" He added.

Alex nodded. "Thanks" He muttered.

"Has your stuff been delivered?" James asked, looking around the room for a suitcase.

Alex shook his head. "I've got to go and pick it up from Zara in about half an hour or so" He replied bluntly.

The cherub agent raised an eyebrow. "Didn't you pack?" He asked.

Alex was silent for a moment, thinking about whether James needed to know or not. "MI6 didn't give me time to pack so they've got agents bringing the things I need" Alex replied eventually, studying the room carefully.

James shrugged and moved over to his desk. "I've got homework to do" He said simply, nodding to the pile of paper that was stacked on the table. "You can hang around here I guess"

Alex nodded silently and sat down on the bed, looking through the books that were scattered on James' floor, he picked one up and began flicking through the pages, having nothing better to do.

James began with his maths homework, quickly working out the equations easily and glancing at Alex.

"So" James said casually, Alex looked up and over at him with raised eyebrows. "Where _did_ you learn to shoot?"

Alex looked back down at the book. "Classified" He replied.

James scowled in annoyance. "What isn't classified?" He asked.

Alex shrugged. "Not much"

"What's up with your eyes?" James asked.

Alex looked surprised for a second but it quickly passed. "For the mission" He said eventually. "They changed the colour and made them seem more like yours. Hiding emotions and stuff"

James nodded, continuing with his maths work. "Is it permanent?"

"No"

James waited a few seconds, waiting for Alex to elaborate. But he didn't. "How long does it stay like that?"

"I have eye drops" Alex replied.

"So just a few drops and its back to normal?" James asked.

Alex sighed and closed the book, looking at James when he realised that James was going to continue with the questions until he got some information worth knowing. "No. A few drops each night for about a week" Alex replied calmly. "Then its normal"

James opened his mouth to speak again but Alex cut him off. "James, I'm not here to be questioned" Alex said. "And especially not by you"

The CHERUB agent scowled at Alex. "Just trying to make friendly conversation" James said irritably.

Alex gave him a blank look. "I'm not here to make friends James. I'm here to do my job" Alex felt mean for sounding so blunt, but James had to know. "If your expecting to go into MI5 when your done here you need to know something. Your not there to make friends, your there to do you job to the best of your abilities because if you don't, people will die. You need to be able to follow orders without your emotions getting in the way because if you don't, you'll get caught, and if you get caught, you die. Its the real world, with real men, firing real guns. Friends are not a part of that. Its best to keep your job and your life separate or people will end up getting hurt" Alex told him in an impassive voice, sure he sounded mean and horrible. But if James didn't understand it, the people around him could get hurt. Alex thought about Tom and how he kept his work and his job completely separate, because Alex knew that if he didn't, Tom would get hurt.

James was staring at him with his mouth open as thought he were going to say something but didn't know what to say. Alex stood up and headed for the door. "I need to talk with Zara" He said as he retraced his steps and walked back to Zara's office quickly before James could reply.

Zara looked up as there was a brief knock at her office door. "Come in!" She called as the door opened silently.

Alex slipped into the room. "Has my stuff been brought up yet?" He asked.

Zara nodded over to a small duffel bag. "There" She said, watching as Alex moved over to grab it.

"Alex" She said.

The boy looked over at her. "Yes?" He asked politely.

"Take a seat" She told him, gesturing to the chair in front of her.

Alex nodded reluctantly and sat down in the wooden chair. "Yes?" He repeated.

"Alex. I want to know exactly what you do for MI6?" Zara told him but held up a hand as Alex was about to speak. "And I don't want to hear the word classified in any of your answers" She added firmly.

Alex was silent for a second. "I cant" He said eventually. "I signed the Official Secrets Act" He replied.

"Your fourteen Alex. I need to know what to expect from you" Zara replied. "How dangerous are your missions? Why are you working for MI6? Why am I not allowed your file?"

"Confidential" Alex said after a brief pause.

Zara scowled angrily at him, she was NOT going to be left in the dark about an agent on one of her own missions. "Alex. As the mission is being handled by CHERUB. I have a right to know about the agents working for me"

Alex held her gaze firmly. "If MI6 didn't give you my file. It means that I'm not allowed to tell you the information that is in it" Alex replied calmly.

Zara sighed and closed her eyes for a second. "Alex. What you said when you came in here. CHERUB agents stick together, none of them will be leaving you behind. You may be MI6's top agent but your fourteen years old and most of the agents on your mission are older than you. Although cherubs are trained to not underestimate their opponents, they will still see you as a fourteen year old and will treat you likewise. Our cherubs always look out for each other, especially younger agents and you will be no exception" Zara told him.

Alex was silent for a moment, mulling over what Zara had told him. "I'm not a CHERUB agent" Alex after a long pause. "I may be younger than they are but I am here for their protection and I will do my job" His voice was hard and impassive. "Your CHERUB agents are there to plant bugs in the house and to listen in on conversations that will give the authorities the information they need to make an arrest. I'm there to protect your agents and to investigate further into SCORPIA's plans. I do not work for you and if MI6 does not seem to think you need to know about me, you do not need to concern yourself with it" Alex stood up, lifting his duffel bag over his shoulder. "If you would excuse me Ms Asker, I'll go back to my room" He added politely, slipping out of the room smoothly, leaving Zara to stare after him.

"Are you sure he said that?" Kyle asked his friend doubtfully as he sat lounging on James' bed.

"That's exactly what he said!" James growled back angrily. He was pissed off that Alex was lecturing him about MI5. The kid was fourteen for God's sake!

Kyle looked over at Kerry, who was sitting silently beside him. "What do you think about him?" Kyle asked.

Kerry frowned, still lost in thought. "I don't know" She murmured before looking up at the two boys. "Maybe...Maybe he has a point" She said uncertainly.

James looked at her incredulously. "A point? The kid's fourteen yet he's talking about this just like all of the other agents we've met on missions. They're all trying to lecture us about how dangerous the world is and how we have to always watch our backs and never trust anyone!" James exploded angrily. "All the agents are the same" He growled.

Kerry raised a perfectly plucked eyebrow. "I think your overreacting" She told him. "And maybe Alex is just talking from experience"

James and Kyle gave her a confused look and she sighed. "Think about it" She said. "Alex is telling you that friends get in the way of you doing your job. Maybe that happened to him. If he works for MI6, he'll probably have some enemies. Maybe they tried to get at Alex through a friend. Like he said, 'Best to keep your job and life separate'. If you made some powerful enemies that would do anything to get revenge, they obviously wouldn't stop at going through your friends to hurt you" Kerry explained, thoughtfully.

The two boys were silent as they mulled over what Kerry had said.

"You think someone tried to get at Alex by hurting his friend?" James asked slowly.

Kerry nodded solemnly.

"Why wouldn't he say anything?" Kyle asked, looking over at Kerry for an answer.

"Maybe, because its none of your business" Came a cold voice from the doorway.

The group looked over to see that Alex was standing in the door frame, his arms crossed over his chest and a duffel bag sitting at his feet.

"But something did happen" James said, it wasn't a question, it was a statement.

"Even if it did it has nothing to do with you" Alex replied in an icy cold voice, picking up his bag and moving over to his bed.

James scowled and looked over at the other two, he waved his arms angrily in the air behind Alex's back, gesturing to Kerry and Kyle how annoying Alex was.

The two smiled at this and stood up. "We'll leave you two alone then" Kyle said as they made their way to the door.

James narrowed his eyes at them. "Yeah, thanks for the help guys" He called dryly as the door was closed.

"So" James began casually, looking over at Alex.

"Your not getting any information James so you might as well shut up and stop trying" Alex said calmly.

James huffed angrily, stalking out of the room to go and find Lauren. He needed to rant and Lauren's room was always the best place to do it.

**Did you like it? Please review and I'll make the next chapter better! PLEASE I NEED TO KNOW! :) THANKS**


	4. Chapter 4

**AN; Thanks for the reviews guys! Had a bit of writers block but I built myself a bridge and got over it. :) So here you go!**

James paced impatiently up and down Lauren's room. "Who the hell does he think he is!" James growled as he walked. "Does he think-"

"James!" Lauren interrupted.

"What?" The CHERUB asked as he stopped pacing, staring angrily at his sister.

"Get outta my room" Lauren said, pointing to the door.

James scowled at her. "I thought you wanted to hear more about Alex" He said.

"I let you in because I thought you had found out something useful!" Lauren exclaimed. "Your just ranting about how secretive he is!"

"You don't understand!" James complained.

Lauren groaned. "James. He's a spy. He's trained to be secretive"

James threw himself on Lauren's bed. "Do you know how irritating it is to have a fourteen year old in the same room as you when he wont tell you anything!" James complained.

Lauren glared at him. "James. Get out" She pointed to the door. "If you don't have any information on Alex. I don't want to hear it. _If_ you find something, tell me"

"Your mean" James groaned, picking himself off of the bed. "And _when_ I get some information about him, your not hearing it from me" James huffed, stalking out of the room.

Lauren sighed and looked back at the pile of homework she had been given. Her brother could be very immature at times.

()()()()()()()()()

Kerry and Kyle lingered in James' doorway, silently watching Alex as he continued to read through the pile of books on James' floor. Kerry narrowed her eyes slightly, searching for anything that would give away who Alex really was.

"Is there a reason your standing there?" Alex asked, not looking up from the book.

"No" Kyle replied, walking into the room and comfortably sitting himself on James' bed. "Is there a reason your reading James' maths book?" He retorted.

Alex shook his head. "I'm bored" He replied.

"James is a maths nerd" Kerry said, joining Alex on James' double bed. "I really doubt you can keep up with his work"

Alex shrugged. "I had extra tuition" Was the only reply as he flicked over the page and continued reading.

Kerry looked around James' room. It was a mess. His clothes were strewn all over the floor accompanied by books, papers, stationary, food scraps, and a packet of condoms. She raised an eyebrow, where Alex's side of the room began all of James' crap had been shoved over, clearing the area around Alex's bed but making a larger pile by James'.

There was a single window between the two beds with a desk below it that was also covered in James' crap. For a second Kerry felt embarrassed that this was how Alex saw CHERUB agents living. He hadn't seen any of the other rooms, so would only know how much of a pig James was.

"What's your favourite colour?" Kyle asked suddenly.

Alex looked up at him, an eyebrow raised. "Blue" He replied.

"Why is that?" Kyle asked.

Alex shrugged. "Its a cool colour"

Kyle agreed. "You play a sport?"

Alex nodded, continuing with his reading.

"What is it?" Kerry asked, catching on to Kyle's idea.

"Football"

"Favourite animal?" Kyle asked.

So they continued with the random questions, firing new ones at Alex the second he answered the previous. Their questioning seemed to amuse him.

"How many missions have you been on?" Kyle asked, continuing with the casual tone.

"Classified" Was Alex's immediate reply, he smiled at them, his normally emotionless eyes sparkling with amusement.

Kyle just laughed, pleased that he could make the boy smile, he glanced at the clock and stood up. "Come on Alex" He said. "Dinner"

Alex nodded, sliding the books that had been resting on his lap onto the bed and standing up to follow them.

So the trio made their way over to the cafeteria, passing curious cherubs in the narrow hallways often enough for Alex to simply ignore their questions as he would have to answer the same few every time.

"Are you really with MI6?"

"Did you really beat Bruce in the dojo?"

"Are you really better than Brad in the shooting range?"

Alex would simply nod his head and move closer to Kerry and Kyle, who were shoving their way through the crowded cafeteria that was quickly filling up with cherubs.

Finally after a long wait Kerry, Kyle and Alex were able to force their way over to a table, the two cherubs quickly greeted Bruce and James, who had come earlier to avoid the crowd. The cherubs quickly fell into the argument that was currently taking place.

"Chelsea!" Bruce stated.

"Arsenal!" James reply.

"Hell no!" Bruce replied. "Chelsea!"

"Arsenal!"

"Your both wrong!" Kyle interrupted. "MANCHESTER UNITED!" He grinned.

"Chelsea!"

"Arsenal!"

"MANCHESTER!"

Kerry sighed. "Does it matter?" She asked, picking at her food.

All of the boys, including Alex, turned to her as thought she were crazy.

"Kerry" James said, his eyes wide. "Of course it matters!"

Kerry turned to Alex. "Does it matter?" She asked.

"Yes" Alex replied, looking at Bruce. "Chelsea" He added, with a nod of his head.

Bruce grinned, throwing his fist in the air in victory. "Ha!" He said to Kyle and James, who were both now sulking. Bruce looked at Alex. "You play?" He asked.

Alex shrugged. "Used to" He said before going back to his food.

Bruce nodded, deciding that he wasn't going to get anything else out of Alex that night.

Alex was glad that they didn't ask him any more questions, it was beginning to annoy him slightly, but he wouldn't let the cherubs know that. Alex discovered that dinner was the time that a lot of the agents socialised, their group of five steadily grew until there were seven, then nine, then twelve and so on.

Most to the cherubs had heard that no one would get answers out of the MI6 agent, so they would introduce themselves and get on with their evening. Although Alex could see that most were almost bursting with curiosity, he was glad that they did not push for answers.

It was over an hour later when James lead Alex back up to their room, claiming James had more homework to do. The older boy was still just as curious as before but had managed to release his anger with Alex on the punching bag in the gym.

Alex was glad of this and as they entered their room, Alex sat silently on his bed and continued looking through James' books.

James, this time, actually did his homework, he would get answers out of Alex eventually. He was certain of it. This would just take some time.

**This one was a bit short sorry. Next chap ALEX IN LESSONS!**


	5. Chapter 5

**AN: Sorry it took a while. I actually have an excuse this time! There was this huge storm right? And the power and internet's been off for days! But here you go! Alex in class!**

**And just because I forgot to do this.**

**Disclaimer!: I do not own or make any money out of writing fanfiction :) There we go. Got that out of the way**

The next morning James woke to the sound of his alarm bleeping in his ear. He rolled over and tried to go back to sleep, hoping that the alarm would shut up.

But it didn't, so the CHERUB groaned and rolled over, his hand blindly feeling for the clock on his bedside table until his fingers found the snooze button.

"Don't you have lessons in twenty minutes?" Came a voice from across the room.

James looked over blearily, momentarily forgetting the events of the previous day. A blond haired boy was sitting on another bed that had been placed in the room, an amused smirk was playing on the boy's lips as he watched James. The boy's hair was still wet, with a few water droplets shining in his short hair, his otherwise emotionless eyes were sparkling slightly at the sight of James.

Finally James remembered who the blond kid on the bed was. Alex. James thought tiredly, he wondered for a second how he had forgotten the MI6 spy but forgot when he thought about what the kid had said.

"Twenty minutes?" James asked, looking at the clock.

Sure enough James only had twenty minutes to get dressed, have a shower, eat breakfast and get over to the classrooms for his Russian lesson.

"Shit!" James muttered, jumping out of his bed and stumbling past Alex to get to the bathroom.

()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()

"Why didn't you wake me earlier?" James grumbled as he quickly wolfed his breakfast down in a rush to get to class, if he was late again, Mrs Ivanov would kill him.

"You told me to 'f*ck off' last time your alarm went off" Alex replied, smirking again.

James grunted in response, he couldn't deny it had happened, it wouldn't have been the first time.

"Come on" James said as he grabbed his backpack, dumped his dishes in the sink and walking swiftly towards the classrooms.

The CHERUB agent glanced at Alex as they walked towards their first lesson, the boy had obviously been amused by James in the morning, but he was still on edge. The boy's sharp eyed were always darting around, searching for anything out of place, his body was seemingly relaxed as they walked but James knew that he could spring into action in seconds.

"You sleep well?" James asked as they entered a long white corridor, other agents were still making their way to classes, much to James' relief.

Alex nodded, the smirk was back again as he remembered trying to wake James up.

James grinned to himself, feeling happy that he could make the kid smile when he had been so serious at first. He knew that Alex wouldn't trust him easily, and it was obvious that the boy was only there to do his job. But that didn't stop the CHERUB agent from trying to gain his trust.

Cautiously James entered the classroom, Alex quickly took in the surroundings, white walls, sixteen individual desks that were lined up straight, facing the board where a petite brunette woman was standing, giving James a disapproving glare.

James grinned at her as the bell rang. "I'm not late" He said as he stepped into the classroom. "I was showing Alex here around Mrs Ivano" James smiled at her as she seemed to notice the boy behind him.

"I'm Mrs Ivano" She said smiling at Alex. "How old are you dear"

"Fourteen" Alex replied.

"How well do you speak Russian?" She asked.

Alex shrugged. "_Я свободно владею_". I am fluent.

Mrs Ivano smiled broadly at him. "Take a seat next to James" She said, eyeing said boy wearily. "You can help him. He needs it"

The class laughed as James' cheeks turned pink for a second at the mention of his language skills, or rather, lack of them.

James quickly recovered himself and sauntered to the back to the class, taking a seat next to Kyle, who had come to brush up on his language skills for his short stay. Alex sat beside him, next to the back window, his eyes searching for the quickest exits, hiding spots, sniper positions, you know, the usual.

Mrs Ivano quickly turned to the white board behind her, continuing with writing down sentences that they had to translate.

Alex quickly jotted down the answers, leaning his chin on his hand as he stared aimlessly at the whiteboard, becoming lost in his thoughts, but still aware that James was craning his head slightly and copying the answers from his book.

Alex glanced over at James with a raised eyebrow but didn't say anything as the older boy gave him a sheepish grin and continued to write down the answers.

The rest of the lesson was very uneventful, with Alex becoming bored very quickly.

Finally the bell rang and James shoved his books into his pack and stood up, gesturing for Alex to follow. The MI6 agent followed, his eyes still alert and wary of his surroundings.

"What do we have now?" Alex asked as they made their way away from the classrooms.

"P.E" James said.

Alex merely nodded and they made their way over to a large running track.

Mr Pike watched as James and the kid walked towards him, the man frowned slightly. "James!" He barked. "Whose the kid?" He demanded, he may not have been as harsh and cruel as Mr Large, but he wasn't the nicest teacher around. He had a few months off before the next round of basic training started and wasn't happy about filling in as a Physical Education teacher for a small group of sixteen year old's.

"This is Alex sir" James said respectively, not being stupid enough to insult his teacher, who could, if he wanted to, make him run laps, and laps, and laps, and more laps.

Mr Pike frowned slightly. "And what is _Alex_ doing here?"

"He's with me sir, going to my classes"

Mr Pike scowled. "And why is he doing that?" Clearly becoming impatient.

"Alex is MI6, Mr Pike" James explained. "He's here until our mission"

Mr Pike nodded his acceptance at this answer, he knew better than to question an MI6 agent, no matter their age. They were all very tight lipped and were not the most honest people in the world, and if James didn't elaborate his answer, it meant that it was most likely classified.

"Go line up and start stretching until the others get here" Mr Pike barked at them, watching as the two boys jogged over to the starting line, beginning a few stretches as a few more students walked over.

There was usually only five people in the class but today Mr Pike had two extra students, Alex and Kyle. Kyle was being sent to classes to brush up on his skills for the mission and to make sure he didn't get sloppy over the brief period of time he had been away.

Mr Pike looked at the students in front of him James, Kerry, Bruce, Gabrielle, Michael, Kyle and Alex. All, from what Mr Pike could see, were in top physical condition, but not overly muscled so that they lost the innocent look that MI5 cherished about them.

"Ok!" Mr Pike announced. "Today you going to give me twenty laps of this track! I'll be timing all of you!"

There were a few groans, mostly from James, before they all got into position to start. "GO!" Mr Pike barked loudly, each of the students began at their own pace, Bruce began basically sprinting around the eight hundred metre track whilst Michael hung back a bit, Kerry and James jogging together somewhere in the middle. Kyle lagged behind, deciding that because he was older and already finished his CHERUB training, he didn't have to try hard on the run. Alex was running not far behind Bruce, easily holding up a fast pace but not sprinting full out.

Mr Pike watched in amazement as Alex managed to lap Kyle after only a few minutes and was slowly catching up to Michael and Bruce, who had almost run out of steam.

The teacher raised an eyebrow, the kid didn't look any older than fifteen at the most, yet here he was, easily keeping pace with CHERUB agents that looked years older than him.

But when Mr Pike thought about it, the kid was MI6, and in his experience with Special Operations, it wasn't worth getting surprised any more. As his students ran, Mr Pike began thinking about whether or not MI6 had developed a drug that would make one of their agents look like they were a kid.

To be honest, Mr Pike was stumped. He watched the boy running but there wasn't anything different about him to any other kid that was around CHERUB. The boy was muscular, like most others at campus, but it wasn't that obvious, so he didn't stand out. The boy had fair skin and blond hair that made him look a lot like James and Lauren. Mr Pike mused over the idea of them being siblings for a few moments.

Nope. Mr Pike was still stumped.

So when Alex jogged over to him after finishing his laps, Mr Pike nodded in approval. "How old are you kid?" He asked.

"Fourteen sir" Alex said politely as he began some simple cool down exercises.

Mr Pike raised an eyebrow. "Your fourteen? And you work for MI6?"

"Yes sir" Alex said.

"And your here for a mission?" Mr Pike asked.

Alex nodded, taking a water bottle from his bad and taking a few sips.

"Why?" Mr Pike asked.

Alex shrugged. "Protection"

Mr Pike couldn't help but snort, the boy was barely up to his shoulder. "Protection?" He snorted. "For the cherubs?"

"Yes sir" Alex said, unfazed by Mr Pike's attitude towards him. It wasn't something he wasn't used to, if anything, he preferred being despised and ignored than having everyone watching his every move and paying attention to him.

Mr Pike nodded. "And how would you protect them?" He said, unable to hide his curiosity. "Where'd you learn to fight?"

"Classified sir" Was the boy's reply as he sat down on the grass, waiting for the others to finish.

Mr Pike scowled at him as Kerry jogged towards them but decided he would ask around with the other CHERUB staff.

Finally when everyone was finished, including Kyle, Mr Pike dismissed them, watching Alex as he walked silently beside James back towards the classrooms.

Mr Pike sighed. _Stupid MI6_. He thought irritably.

**Ok so here u go! Just getting this chap up, :) I don't like this chap that much but its more of a filler sort of thing.**

** R&R Please**


	6. Do no be afraid of the AN its NOT bad

**DO NOT BE SCARED BY THE AUTHORS NOTE IT IS NOT BAD NEWS**

**I just need some help. '**_**Sheepish smile'**_

**Hmm. What to do? What to do? Any suggestions? **

**I need some suggestions!**

**Don't worry, I'm not stopping this story. I just need some idea's or something **

**I will NOT give this story up and disappoint all of my readers.**

**That is ONE thing that annoys me.**

**So I'm asking you for idea's early on. So that I don't take ages to update.**

**Sorry for asking :/**


	7. Chapter 7

**Yo. Just a bit of teenage slang for you there :) Thanks for the reviews guys! They make me happy :D So here's the next chappie up :) Hope you enjoy**

**Thank you so much for the idea's guys! Boy did they help! :) I was reading through them all and suddenly...LIGHT BULB...I got an idea! :) It's sort some of your idea's combined, and it's not all in this chapter :) It gets exciting soon! :)**

**Disclaimer: I, DammitimmaD, do NOT own Alex Rider...But if Anthony Horowitz were willing to sell...One can always dream...**_**Sigh...**_**Oh well. ONWARDS WITH THE STORY :)**

**THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THE IDEA'S GUYS! THEY'VE REALLY HELPED! Just adding that again for you there :)**

The first few days passed without incident, the cherubs had questioned him relentlessly before realizing that they wouldn't get any information out of the teenage spy that they didn't already know.

James had begun to grow accustomed to the cherubs curious stares and Alex's strange nature to stay within the shadows.

At first it had scared the hell out of him, they had been walking back from dinner and towards their room when a group of grey shirts had stopped them.

_A girl, Hannah, who would have been fifteen or so, stepped forward. "Where's Alex?" She asked. "We wanted to ask him some questions" She explained._

_James looked behind him, Alex had been at his side only seconds before. "Uh...I don't know" He said uncertainly, searching for where the spy had disappeared too. They were walking outside, towards the dorms, there was a light nearby but it was mostly dark around them._

_Hannah and her friends shrugged as they turned and walked away._

_James frowned to himself, beginning to walk back the way he had come, maybe Alex had gotten himself lost?_

_"What are you looking for?" Alex asked from behind him._

_"Ahhhh! HOLY SHIT!" James basically screamed._

_Alex didn't bother hiding the grin that forced itself onto his lips. "You scream like a girl" He smiled._

_James growled angrily at him. "What the FUCK was that? How'd you get there?" He demanded angrily._

_Alex watched him innocently. "I walked" He said._

_James had to refrain himself from hitting the boy in front of him. "I meant, where'd you go?"_

_Alex pointed to the wall of the building, which had a large shadow falling across it. "Shadows" He shrugged._

_James looked at him as though he were crazy before shaking his head and stalking towards their room._

_Alex smirked slightly but ran to catch up with James, who set a fast pace._

James smirked slightly at the memory, now that he looked back, he could feel proud that he had brought a grin out of the normally solemn kid.

* * *

James woke with a start, yawning lazily and rolling over to face the bedside table. The glowing numbers informed him it was quite early in the morning, but the CHERUB agent switched on his lamp, grabbed the glass on the table and staggered out of bed, stumbling through the mess on the floor and over to the bathroom to get a drink.

James drunk greedily from his the glass, filling it up about halfway before turning off the tap and rubbing his eyes, yawning as he wandered back towards his bed, placing the half full glass of water on the table.

There was a small murmur from the other side of the room, making James look up quickly.

"No"

James frowned, looking over at Alex's bed to see that the boy had his fists tightly curled around his duvet, his eyes flickered restlessly beneath closed lids and his breath was coming in short gasps.

James swore. Alex was having a nightmare.

"Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit" James wracked his brain for any knowledge on how to deal with the situation, he wasn't the touchy-feely type, nor was he any good with words on this sort of thing.

James swore again but moved over to Alex's bed, although Alex wasn't thrashing and screaming around, James was sure it wasn't normal.

"Alex" He whispered, unsure of how to wake the boy. "Kid wake up" James tentatively placed a hand on Alex's shoulder, aiming to shake him gently, but never had the chance.

Alex shot out of bed, rolling onto the floor and backing up to the far side of the wall, his eyes were wild and wide as he scanned the room, his frightened eyes resting on James.

James froze, his eyes were wide, his brain attempting to process what had happened.

"Uh..." James began, but Alex snapped out of his faze and moved towards the bathroom, mumbling something about taking a shower.

James slowly got to his feet, his mouth was hanging open from when he had begun speaking, and he snapped it closed.

"That was weird" He murmured to himself, sitting down on his bed and waiting for Alex to come back in.

After a few minutes Alex emerged, his hair was wet but he looked more in control than he had when he first woke up.

"What just happened?" James asked as Alex climbed into his bed.

"Nothing" Alex mumbled from beneath his blankets.

"That wasn't nothing" James scoffed.

"Then what was it?" Alex retorted.

"Uh...I don't know" James frowned.

"So what are we talking about?"

"We're talking about what the hell just happened" James was beginning to get pissed off now.

"So what the hell did just happen?"

"I don't know!" James was frustrated now.

"So what was the question?"

"I don't know!" James growled.

Alex nodded. "Goodnight then" He said.

"What?" James gasped.

Alex nodded to the clock. "We should be sleeping" He said calmly.

James growled angrily. "We should be talking about this?"

"You want me to talk about my feelings?" Alex asked him sceptically.

"What? NO!"

"So what are we talking about?"

"STOP DOING THAT!" James almost shouted, he closed his eyes and took a deep breath, the kid was so confusing, James couldn't concentrate and think properly.

"Doing what?"

James groaned in frustration. "JUST SHUT UP AND GO TO SLEEP!" He threw himself onto his bed, covering his head with his pillow.

"If you say so"

* * *

James woke to the sound of his alarm blearing in his ear, he rolled over and onto his feet and rubbed his eyes.

He scanned the room blearily and noticed that Alex was sitting on his own bed, completing his Mathematics homework.

"We've got to talk about last night" James said firmly.

"What about it?" Alex asked, not looking up from his homework.

"Don't give me those little MI6 mind games" James said. "They're not going to work"

Alex looked up at him with a raised eyebrow. "Alriiiiight?" He said uncertainly.

James scowled at him, glancing at the door. "We've got a trip into town tomorrow. So we're going to get this over with now" He told Alex sternly. "What the hell happened last night?"

"Uh...you had another argument with Kerry? Something about you and a girl called Lacey, I think" Alex said, his expression was calm and collected.

James shook his head. "No. You're not getting out of this one kid. I remember what happened last night" He grinned and looked at the glass of half full water on the side of his bed. "See. I got up to fill that"

Alex shrugged and stood up. "I don't know what your talking about" He said.

James growled, stepping between Alex and the door. "What was your nightmare about" He asked. "It's not healthy"

Alex shrugged. "Classified"

James frowned at him. "Don't you have to see some sort of psychologist?"

Alex shook his head. "No"

"Well you should" James snapped.

Alex's face darkened as he stepped forward to meet James. "Last night never happened" He growled in a dangerously low voice.

James couldn't help but gulp at the sudden change of the fourteen-year-old. "But-" He began, Alex wasn't a kid anymore, he wasn't the quiet, reserved boy that James had come to expect each day. This new boy was lethal.

"You can't hide from it forever" James said eventually.

"No, but I can keep it a secret for as long as possible" Alex snapped back.

James found himself nodding before he caught himself and realised that it was a fourteen-year-old that was threatening him. "Just don't expect me to keep it a secret" James replied, placing his hand on the door before Alex could reply.

* * *

James watched Alex throughout the day, his sharp eyes catching on to every movement the fourteen-year-old made. But Alex seemed fine, as though the events of that hadn't occurred. It made James wonder how long the nightmares had been going on.

It had been five days that Alex had been with them that things started to get interesting.

James grinned at Alex, who was leaning patiently on the door frame of their bedroom. "Are you looking forward to going into town?" James grinned, he didn't want to continue to look angry with Alex. James didn't know how to react to the change in personality that he had witnessed. But he wanted to tell the others so badly. Maybe on the trip today...

Alex shrugged. "Sure"

"Come on" James said, slinging an arm over Alex's shoulders as he led the boy towards the front gates. "We get off school to go into town and wander around for a bit, spending our pocket money and hang out!" He crowed happily. "You should be excited. Only about nine cherubs get to go out each week. You're lucky to even be coming"

Alex raised an eyebrow at this but allowed James to lead him towards where some of the other cherubs were waiting to get onto the minivan that sat by the gates of the CHERUB campus.

"Everyone on the bus!" Barked Mr Pike, one of the lucky staff that had been chosen to act as a chaperon.

The nine cherubs filed onto the bus obediently and sat down in the van. Four people in the back: Alex, James, Bruce and Kyle. Two in front of them: Kerry and Gabrielle. Finally there were three red shirt kids, who were almost bursting with excitement, Josh, Hayley and Mitchell, and were talking animatedly amongst themselves.

"So Alex..." Kyle said, glancing across at the younger boy, who was staring blankly out of the window. "How are you finding CHERUB so far?"

Alex shrugged and looked over at him. "It's pretty cool" He said nonchalantly.

"Do you even find the classes hard?" Gabrielle asked him pointedly.

Alex shrugged again. "I've had extra tuition" He said bluntly.

James mulled over what he had seen last night, wondering what Alex must have gone through to end up in the state he had been, what he must have seen that haunted him so much.

"James!" Kerry snapped her fingers in front of her ex-boyfriend's face. "Are you even listening to me?"

"No" James said, looking over at the others, who were staring at him. "What did you say?" He asked, looking over at Alex, who had gone back to staring out of the window. Kyle and Bruce smuggled a snort, whilst Kerry glared at him, even Alex smirked slightly.

Kerry scowled at him. "I was asking you how you and Alex were getting along" She said moodily. "You know, after your little temper tantrum the other day. We wanted to know if you got over it"

"We're fine" James replied shortly, glancing over at Alex again, who seemed to be ignoring the conversation. James frowned slightly, his irritation getting the best of him, he was still annoyed about the way Alex had lectured him on his first day, and he wasn't going to let it slide. Kerry bringing it up didn't seem to help the matter and James was the type of person who acted before they thought.

After a long silence James frowned. "Actually..." He began, looking over at Alex, who was glaring at him. James shifted under his gaze but continued anyway. "Alex had a nightmare" He said.

Everyone looked to Alex, who had turned away from James and was glaring out of the window; his face was hard and impassive, apart from the slight flicker of annoyance that passed through his features.

"Really?" Kerry asked, surprised as she studied Alex's reaction, but there was none, he just ignored them. She exchanged a glance with Gabrielle, who looked angry.

"Dumbass!" Gabrielle growled, turning in her seat and thumping James over the head. "You don't say that! It was obviously a secret!" She thumped him again before looking at Alex.

"Alex, honey, don't worry about it" Gabrielle said soothingly, instantly taking charge of the situation. "James is a dick and needs some sense kicked into him"

Alex didn't respond.

"James, swap seats with me" Gabrielle ordered, taking off her seatbelt.

When James didn't move she glowered at him. "Move your arse James or I will kick it out of that seat"

James grudgingly complied and sat down awkwardly beside Kerry.

Gabrielle took a seat next to Alex and placed a hand on his shoulder, luckily he had been expecting it, so didn't flinch or move away.

"Alex, look at me" Gabrielle said in a stern, yet soft voice, gently turning his shoulder so that he was facing her. "Now, Alex. We have no idea about what you've gone through" She said softly, although she was hadn't known the boy for long, it was obvious he had gone through a lot, and James had just ruined whatever trust he had gained, which pissed her off immensely. "James is an arrogant dumbass and we both know that" Alex smirked slightly so she continued. "And we both know that he had no right to go around and tell a secret that wasn't his to tell" Alex watched her warily, wondering where she was going with this. "So I'm going to personally see to it that you get him back" She smiled warmly at him. "When he's least expecting it. But until then, no one on this bus will speak a word about what just happened" She turned to the others. "Right"

Kerry smiled. "Right"

James reluctantly nodded, knowing that both girls would beat the shit out of him if he didn't.

Finally, Gabrielle and Kerry glared Kyle and Bruce into submission, so they both agreed.

Gabrielle draped her arm over Alex's shoulders, smiling warmly at him. "You can trust us Alex" She said gently.

Alex gave Gabrielle a small smile. "Thanks" He murmured.

**You like it? Please tell me! I want to know soooooooooo badly! Review please!**

**Anyway...I just wanted to add a little Gabrielle/Alex moment there, not because of pairings! Hell no! Just because I always though Gabrielle to be that sort of protective older sister sort of person, you know, looking out for the younger kids, having that demanding personality that kept the CHERUB boys in line but could be a softy with kids and what-not. :) So do you like it?**

**Please Review...**

**You see that button right there?...Yes...You see it?...NOW PRESS IT! :)**


	8. Chapter 8

**Ooh...awkward...Hehe, hi guys...I'm not dead :) Sorry for the late update by the way. My dad had me on laptop detox but I'm back and updating my stories :) and I have the usual... u know...exams and all that stuff. i gotta do well in these or my parents will kill me which I'm not really keen for :)**

**So...Here's the next part in Worlds Collide...I have to say, I don't really like the name of this story but...TOO LATE :)**

**Thanks for the reviews guys :) They make me feel so loved. The more reviews I get the more guilty i feel so i update quicker. Personally I have taken the oath to review every story i read so that other authors can feel the loveness of reviews too :)**

**This chapter may contain fluffyness. MAY. not too much cos im no good at that stuff but a lil bit :) But I'm listening to that song 'take to the sky' by owl city. :) Its THE most adorablest song EVER!**

**I also decided we're gonna jump a bit to the mission soonish, not straight away but soonish. I wont go do a second by second story :P **

**Disclaimer: I still don't know why we have to write a disclaimer for everything when obviously I've taken the idea from Anthony Horowitz. SO: I DO NOT OWN ALEX RIDER. (sigh) Although if he was real only MI6 would so :P to u Anthony Horowitz.**

**Please Read and Review :)**

**

* * *

**The CHERUB bus reached the mall soon enough and the agents clambered off of the minivan.

"Come on Alex" Gabrielle said cheerfully, looping her arm through Alex's and tugging him towards the mall. "Let's have a look around"

Kerry grinned at them, quickly holding onto Alex's other arm as the girls disappeared into the crowd.

"MEET BACK HERE AT THREE" Mr Pike called after them, he wasn't sure if they heard him or not, but he figured that the others would inform them. He turned to the three older boys who were about to disappear into a sports shop.

"James!" Mr Pike growled, the teenager turned to him.

"What?" James asked.

"Watch the kids" Mr Pike replied, shoved the three red shirts towards the teen, smiling, with a slightly sinister look.

James scowled. "Why me?" He asked. "Why cant the girls do it? Or you?"

"I have better things to do with my time James" Mr Pike smirked, glancing down at the red shirts, who squirmed under his gaze and moved towards James. "And the girls are watching Alex"

James' scowl deepened but he, smartly, didn't reply. Instead he turned to glare at the red shirts, who would have been about eight years old. The kids darted into the shop after Kyle and Bruce, deciding that they would stay away from the pissed off CHERUB agent.

Bruce looked down at the girl, Hayley, who had appeared beside him and looked extremely bored. The CHERUB looked over towards Kyle, who was watching the other two boys, Josh and Mitchell, they were talking animately to each other as they looked at the soccer balls that the shop had. (**AN; I'm from New Zealand. WE CALL IT SOCCER NOT FOOTBALL)**

Bruce scowled slightly as he noticed James moving angrily towards him.

"We're babysitting aren't we?" Bruce said dryly.

James nodded. "Cos the girls are supposedly watching Alex"

Bruce snorted. "I think Alex would be watching the girls"

The other boy shrugged. "Whatever" He said. "Either way Mr Pike ditched us until three. So we might as well drop the kids off at an arcade with some money and do what we want"

Kyle and Bruce nodded in agreement. "Good" Kyle said, looking down at Josh, who was juggling the ball with his foot, looking as though he would knock something over.

_CRASH_

James sighed, rolling his eyes as Kyle ushered the three eight year olds out of the shop before the man behind the counter could reach them.

* * *

"Come on Alex" Kerry chirped brightly as they dragged him throughout the shops. "Pick a store"

"I really don't mind" Alex said calmly, shrugging as best he could with the two girls holding both arms. "And you can let me go now" He added, smiling slightly at them.

"Nope" Gabrielle crowed, grinning. "We don't want the little boy to get lost in the mall now would we?"

Alex mock scowled at them, making the two girls laugh and tug him towards the food court.

"Lighten up Alex" Kerry said, smiling at him. "Its our last week before the mission"

Alex's eyes dulled slightly, the small spark that had begun to appear was gone again. "Yeah..." Alex murmured.

Gabrielle smiled at him. "Come on Alex. The mission wont be that bad"

Alex didn't reply.

Kerry frowned slightly, the two girls steering Alex over to a restaurant and into an empty booth. ""What's up?"

"Nothing" Alex replied immediately.

Gabrielle and Kerry frowned at him. "Alex, no matter what MI6 have told you, you're not going at this alone" Kerry said firmly.

Alex nodded. "I know" He said sincerely. "Its not the mission..."

"Then what is it?" Gabrielle asked.

"Its nothing" Alex said firmly, pushing himself out of the seat, aiming to leave the cafe.

Kerry grabbed his arm out of reflex and felt him tense sharply. Alex looked over at her, obviously fighting the urge to break her hold on his arm and frowned.

"You stay here until we've figured you out" Kerry said, surprising herself by the firmness in her own voice. It took all of her willpower not to release Alex's arm, she knew the boy could be dangerous and had some strange reflexes that wouldn't end well for her, but she ignored her senses and held tightly to Alex's arm.

Gabrielle gave him a stern look. "Alex, how on earth do you expect us to help you if you don't tell us a damn thing"

Alex sighed, closing his eyes and taking a deep breath, his body relaxing slightly. "Where am I going to go after the mission has ended?" He said eventually.

Kerry frowned. "Well where were you before?" She said slowly.

Alex shrugged nonchalantly. "London..." He obviously wanted to say something else, but stopped himself.

"What happened in London?" James' voice floated out from the crowd as he came and sat down next to Alex, smiling warmly at the younger boy.

"Nothing" Alex shrugged.

Gabrielle scowled at the CHERUB. "James..." She said warningly.

"Your turn to watch the midgets" James retorted, nodding his head towards where Bruce and Kyle were standing with the three younger cherubs.

"And if we don't?" Kerry challenged.

"If you don't, you'll be answering to Mr Pike, who will probably wonder where they are at the end of the day" James replied.

If looks could kill, James would be dead twelve times over from the glares he was receiving from the two girls.

"Come on Alex" James said as he watched the two girls walk away, Bruce and Kyle disappeared into the crowd, knowing that Alex didn't like having too many people around him at once asking questions. "What happened in London?"

Alex frowned at him. "Why should I trust you?" Alex snapped angrily.

James frowned. "I'm sorry, ok? What more do you want me to do?"

Alex crossed his arms over his chest. "I want to know that I can trust someone who wont go around and blurt out my secrets to the world when he's pissed off at me"

James scowled. "You can trust me" He said. "I wont do anything like that again"

Alex didn't look convinced. "Riiiiight" Alex said sarcastically.

James sighed. "Alex, I was stupid and I know that" James looked hopefully at Alex, who remained impassive. "And you know that a lot of the others at CHERUB thinks I'm a dumb, player who got lucky in missions and with the ladies" This earned a small smile from Alex, so James continued. "I was stupid, and I want to have at least one person at CHERUB who doesn't think that"

Alex shrugged again. "How do you know I don't think your a dumb, player who got lucky?"

James opened his mouth to reply, but snapped it shut when he discovered he didn't have an answer. James gaped, his eyes wide. "You DO think that!" He mock pouted.

Alex smiled again. "Maybe..."

The older boy grinned. "So we're good?" He asked.

Alex nodded slightly. "We're good" He said as he stood up to leave.

"What _did _happen in London?" James asked quickly.

Alex turned to look at him, the emotionless mask was plastered over his face again. "Maybe later" He said quietly.

* * *

**So here'd the next chapter. Its kinda short but I hope you don't mind the little fluffiness.**

**Now questions for you to think about before the next chapter is up:**

**~What happened in London?**

**~Will James earn Alex's trust?**

**~Is the mission really 'not dangerous'?**

**NOW ANSWER THESE:**

**~Should I continue?**

**~Is this story good enough to review?**

**~Is the grammer ok? Cos I'm not so good with that and I'm fifteen, so its not my biggest problem at the moment.**

**REVIEW**


	9. Chapter 9

**Alright. So I'm really really really really really sorry I haven't updated in like... forever... but I HAVE A REASON!**

**So a few weeks ago my parents decided "Hey! Let's go on vacation to Dubai and leave our kids at home to housejump!" So for the past few weeks I've been jumping around houses for a place to stay, friends, family, family friends etc. And to make things THAT much harder for me, I had exams that if I didn't pass with GREAT results my parents were going to cancel my account here on fanfiction! :( So I've been studying HARD CORE and I am glad to say that I HAVE PASSED! :)**

**Thank you guys for being so patient with my unpredictable life, it's hard to find time to write when you've got aunts and uncles breathing down your back, because they'll get in trouble if you fail as well...**

**Alright. Back to the story. I've decided to skip through some time up to the mission. Just because we NEED SOME ACTION! :) And when I start writing an interesting part in a story I don't get blocks in my imagination because I REALLY want to finish that part!**

**Sorry if it feels a bit rushed. I've done the best I could because I NEEDED to update! I might come back and re-write this chapter when I'm finished. But I don't really know how to fix it yet.**

**THANKS GUYS!**

**READ AND REVIEW! :)**

* * *

James sprinted down the corridors, panting as he pushed himself harder than he had done in a long time, he could see his destination in the distance and threw himself towards it, knowing that he would be in A LOT of trouble if he didn't make it.

"I'M HERE!" James panted as he threw himself into the room, the door slamming shut behind him. "I'M NOT LATE!"

"I'm glad you could join us, James" Zara said, a slight smirk covering her features, she glanced at her watch. "And you're right on time"

James was panting heavily from his run; he had sprinted all the way from the gym room at the other side of the school, here to Zara's office so that he wouldn't be late.

Kerry rolled her eyes at the boy as he took a seat across from Ewart, who had Joshua sitting on his lap. "Continue" Kerry said. "What were you saying about these kids?"

"As I was saying" Ewart glanced pointedly at James, who sent him a sheepish grin. "Befriending Neil Jonathan's children is essential for the mission to succeed. We have their files and psychologists have determined how they react to certain personalities, you have to fit the character that is specified in their files to befriend them as it is crucial for you to make a good first impression on them" Ewart passed each CHERUB a small file.

Kyle read through it quickly, nodding his head slightly to show he understood. "This is a piece of cake" He smiled, looking over at Ewart. "He's just like all the others I've befriended and it won't take much to get me noticed and into his group"

Zara frowned lightly at the oldest CHERUB. "Don't underestimate your job" She said sternly. "If you mess this up, it could destroy the whole mission, Ewart and I will try to befriend Neil and his wife, Leah. They control a large part of the town with many illegal businesses and if we can befriend them, we'll get a good job and be able to find the information we need to take down those companies as well as both Help Earth and SCORPIA"

Lauren glanced nervously at Zara from her folder. "This is the biggest mission we've ever been on, isn't it?"

The woman nodded solemnly. "It may be the biggest mission you ever go on"

Alex had a larger folder with all of the children's files in it, so that he could understand how the family worked and how, if a CHERUB failed at gaining their chosen person as a friend, he would be able to maybe worm his way into the family and try to fix it. Alex glanced around at the cherubs, watching their reactions to the person they would have to play for the mission.

Kyle was obviously happy with his 'character', already having experience with this type of person. Alex glanced at the boy that Kyle had to befriend, George Jonathan. The seventeen year old wanted to move out of his family home and into his own apartment where he could host parties and drink alcohol without getting grounded by his parents. George was average at school and didn't put effort into anything other than making money and getting to parties, where he followed by his friends who all sounded similar to himself.

Lauren seemed slightly pleased, as though she would be able to portray the person needed, but she would have to try hard to become friends with her. Katie Jonathan was a quiet and shy girl who had a few friends that she hung out with at recess and lunch, but never seemed to grow close to any of them.

James seemed pleased, Michael Jonathan was a ladies' man who girls swooned over and always seemed to be in trouble at school. The person he had to play came naturally to him.

Kerry was annoyed. The girl she had to befriend was Melanie Jonathan, a pretty and popular cheerleader who seemed to be at the top of everything in the school. She was class president, captain of the cheerleading squad, and was in most of the school clubs. The girl would be hard to get close to, as everyone in her year wanted to be friends with her too.

"Does anyone have any questions?" Ewart asked as he stood up, lifting Joshua with him.

Kerry put up her hand. "How am I supposed to be friends with this Melanie girl if everyone else wants to do the same thing?" She asked.

Zara glanced over at Alex. "We thought about that" She said. "We've decided to move Alex's birthday forward a few months so that he'll be in your year"

Kerry nodded, looking over at Alex; the boy seemed to have closed off since their trip into town. After telling James he would talk later, he had avoided all questions and the emotionless mask he had when he first came to CHERUB had returned.

But the CHERUB agent had to admit, having Alex with her would definitely get her noticed without having to overwork in all of the clubs at the school. Having blond hair that was flicked off to the side and muscles decorating his toned body made most of the girls swoon at his every word.

Alex glanced at her, catching her staring at him, he didn't react and the mask of cool indifference was still plastered on his handsome features. Kerry looked away instantly, blushing slightly, causing a small smirk appear on Alex's lips.

"Anymore questions?" Zara asked as she joined her husband in standing.

Everyone shook their heads quickly.

"We'll head over to the airport now. We have a long ride ahead of us" Zara said, taking Joshua from Ewart, the boy had fallen asleep during the meeting and was now resting peacefully in her arms.

"Where is the Jonathan housing estate?" Kerry asked.

"It's in America, just outside of Los Angeles" Ewart replied.

"Are your bags packed?" Zara asked the cherubs.

Everyone nodded.

"Then let's go"

* * *

The apartment was quite large, with two stories and seven bedrooms in it, all painted with white walls apart from a feature wall, which in each room was a different colour, the 'Robert' family quickly looked through their new home and decided it was fairly decent.

"I CALL THE ROOM WITH THE BLUE WALL!" James crowed as they walked passed one of the larger rooms with a balcony and a computer already sitting on a small wooden desk.

"THAT'S NOT FAIR!" Kyle gasped. "I CALL IT!"

The two quickly shoved passed everyone else to get the room first.

"I said it first!" James shouted back, quickly sprinting into the bedroom that had a light blue colour painted on one wall and placing his bags in it. "See? Its mine!"

Kyle scowled at his 'brother'. "Why do you get it?" He pouted.

"Because I called it first" James sneered happily.

Lauren rolled her eyes at the two boys that seemed to be acting more immature than Joshua was, the child had woken up at the airport and Alex had been carrying him around everywhere.

Joshua had taken an instant liking to Alex for some reason, probably the same as why he liked James so much, but Lauren didn't complain, having the little boy around seemed to relax Alex slightly.

"I WANNA SLEEP IN THE ROOM BY ALEX!" Joshua's small voice could be heard easily throughout the apartment followed by Alex chuckling quietly beside him.

In the end James was in the room with the blue wall, Kyle was in room with a dark green wall, Alex had a black wall, Joshua had a bright yellow wall, Kerry had claimed the room with a dark red wall, which left Lauren with a deep purple wall.

"Everyone in the kitchen!" Zara called from downstairs. "I'm going grocery shopping in a few minutes and I want to know what you guys want for breakfast!"

"FRUITLOOPS!" James and Kyle crowed from upstairs instantly.

"Cornflakes" Lauren said as she jogged down the stairs.

"Toast" Kerry said from her position in the living room, she was exploring the rest of the house.

"COCOA POPS!" Joshua shouted from upstairs.

"What do you want Alex?" Zara yelled, writing down on a pad of paper.

"I don't mind" Was the reply.

Zara rolled her eyes and headed towards the door. "JOSHUA!" She called. "Are you coming grocery shopping with Mum? I'm leaving" She asked.

"WAIT MUMMY!" Joshua gasped, bounding down the stairs quickly. "WAIT FOR ME!"

Zara paused at the door and looked over at Kerry, who had appeared in the doorway to the living room. "Make sure everyone gets unpacked, you start school tomorrow"

* * *

**I really am sorry it took so long for such a short chapter. But I really had to do well on those exams. But I've finished middle school and moving onto year eleven next year, I have my NCEA, which is the same as GCSE's in other countries. :)**

**I wont take so long to update next time!**

**Please don't flame about the time it took to update because I really was doing the best I could! **


	10. Chapter 10

**YAY NEXT CHAPTER!**

**So I will be updating more regularly because its the Summer holidays and I have nothing to do other than go to the beach and tan, swim, and go on the boat. :) The only time I wont be able to update for a few weeks is when I go to my friend's batch and we wont be able to get internet or cellphone coverage, but that's after Christmas at the start of January.**

* * *

(**The Next Day**) (**1**)

James strutted confidently into the school, to make friends with Michael Jonathan, he needed to be cool and confident from the start. He had his school bag slung over one shoulder and shot a charming smile at a group of girl who walked passed the him, they giggled flirtatiously.

Kerry walked beside him, holding in her arms a pile of books and a large list of school clubs written on a sheet of paper. Her long black hair was tied back in a pony tail and she had a smile framing her pretty face.

Alex walked beside her, his blond hair covered one of his bright blue eyes, as he walked passed a group of school girls they watched him, a dreamy expression on their faces and they sighed.

Kyle walked behind them, carrying a bored expression that made him look like he would rather be anywhere but here, his scruffy appearance gave the feeling that he had slept in and was still half asleep. His greasy hair was sticking up at different angles, showing he hadn't done anything with it.

Lauren stood behind them, her head down and her arms hugging her school books close to her chest, a nervous expression covering her face, she had to play the part of a shy and smart girl that wasn't very confident. She had, had some extra tutoring so that she was ahead of her age and it would seem as though she was very smart for her age.

* * *

"I am Headmaster Williams and I understand that you've just moved into America, from England, is it?" The Headmaster began politely.

"Yes sir" Kerry nodded. "We attended school in London but our father was transferred over here"

Headmaster Williams nodded. "I have been told that you're not all blood related?"

"No sir, Kyle and myself were both adopted, as our parents were unable to care for us and Zara wanted to take us in as her own" Kerry replied easily, her head held high.

The Headmaster blinked, expecting some hesitancy regarding the subject. "And this doesn't bother you?" He asked.

Kerry shook her head. "No sir. I didn't know my birth parents, and Zara is the only mother I've ever had, she treats me like one of her own" Kerry shrugged. "And it has never affected my social life or my schoolwork. The Roberts are the only family I have"

Headmaster Williams turned to Kyle, who shrugged. "Doesn't bother me" He said.

The man nodded, their school files, which were fake, said that none of them were horrible students and that although James was known to cause trouble in class, none of them were extremely bad students that would do things that could get themselves into a lot of trouble.

The two girls were amazing in their schoolwork, far beyond their age group, but Lauren was a fairly shy girl that would fit in well with the small group that was often seen hanging around the library. Whilst Kerry was an outgoing students, eager to learn and be involved, taking every opportunity that the school presented.

James was the one he would need to keep an eye on, the headmaster mused silently. He was a troublemaker but wasn't going to completely ruin the school reputation with bad behaviour, he looked like a stocky lad and would probably do well in the sports teams the school offered.

Kyle looked like the student that probably wouldn't achieve much at the school, but there was no reason to keep the teenager out, as this was his last year at the school before he would be moving on to university, if he could get in.

Headmaster Williams looked at the last of the Roberts children, the boy was older than Lauren but younger than Kerry and would fit in well with the school jocks. Alex had an athletic build, lean and muscular but slightly small for his age, the headmaster had seen the group of girls that had followed Alex through the corridors, giggling and whispering amongst themselves as they watched him.

"I have a few students here to show you around" Headmaster Williams said, nodding to the door. "Hannah, Blake, Harry, and Melanie! You can come in now!"

Instantly four students entered the office, each with warm and welcoming smiled plastered on their faces.

"Hannah, this is Lauren Roberts, she is in your homeroom and I would appreciate it if you showed her around" The Headmaster introduced them briefly, leaving it as a sign that they could leave.

Lauren stood up shyly and cast one last glance back at her 'siblings', Kerry gave her an encouraging smile while her 'brothers' hardly noticed.

"Blake, this is James Roberts" Blake smiled warmly at James, making the CHERUB raise an eyebrow as he got to his feet. "I'm Blake Fitzley, nice to meet you" The boy held out his hand, which reluctantly James shook. "James" Was the reply.

"I'll be showing you around, and you're free to hang out with me until you find some friends" Blake continued happily.

James nodded, smirking slightly as he followed the overly-enthusiastic boy into the school halls. "I'll remember that" He said sarcastically.

"Harry, this is Kyle"

"Nice to meet you" Harry shook Kyle's hand happily, discreetly wiping his now greasy hands on his pants as to not appear impolite, the smile never really leaving his face.

Kyle raised an eyebrow, giving off a bored expression.

"I'm sure we'll be good friends" Harry crowed.

"Whatever," Kyle muttered as he slumped out the door, following his new 'friend out into the corridor and to his first class.

"Kerry and Alex, as you are both in the same year, I have assigned you both to Melanie Jonathan" Headmaster Williams said dismissively.

Melanie smiled warmly at Kerry who returned it, the group made their way out of the office.

"So, we have History first period and then home room" Melanie said, holding out her hand to Kerry, who shook it.

Alex took her hand delicately and brought it up to his lips. "It's a pleasure to meet you Miss Jonathan" Alex said smoothly, his lips quirking into a small smile as he instantly turned on the charm that had most girls swooning over both his handsome face and British accent.

Alex had read the girls file and knew she was the type that would get with a boy who didn't treat her right. So he had to play the perfect man, handsome, polite, muscular, and brilliant in both sports and schoolwork but still putting most of his effort into a relationship. The girl was one of the most popular in the school and wouldn't settle for anything other than the best. Usually he wouldn't put too much effort into a mission for MI6 but this time it was personal. This time he would be getting close to SCORPIA, this time he was getting something in return. Revenge, and if to do that he had to get close to a teenage girl, he wouldn't let anything get in his way.

Melanie smiled at him. "Call me Mel" She giggled, locking her bright blue eyes with Alex's.

For a few seconds she studied his face before blushing and looking back at Kerry who smiled again.

"We should get to class" She said quickly, leading the two through the maze of corridors and towards their history class.

"So if there's anything that you two need, just come and ask me" Melanie explained as they reached the door, looking purposefully at Alex who shot her another smile.

"Actually, I was looking to sign up for some of the committees around here" Kerry voiced.

Melanie looked slightly surprised but her eyes brightened. "That's great" She said. "I have a meeting with the student events team today at lunch in the cafeteria" She explained. "You should come along, we're always looking for new people and it would be a great way to get to know the school and new people"

Kerry put on a looked of astonishment. "Brilliant!" She said. "I always like to be involved at school, and making the most of opportunities offered" the CHERUB agent explained.

"I think we'll be really good friends" Melanie said smiling at her as she lead the two into the classroom.

"Sorry sir for being late" She batted her blue eyes at the old man that stood at the front of the room. "I'm showing around Kerry and Alex Roberts, they're new here sir" She explained.

The man nodded. "Why don't you tell us a bit about yourselves?" He asked, looking at the 'siblings'.

"I'm Kerry and this is my brother Alex" Kerry pointed to the blond beside her. "Just if you're wondering, I was adopted" She smiled and looked around. "Any questions?"

A boy near the back put up his hand as he sent her a charming smile. "Where are you guys from?" He asked.

Alex decided to speak up this time. "We used to live in London, England" He said as the two moved towards their seats.

"Thank you, Kerry and Alex" The teacher said. "I am Mr Anderson" Quickly he turned back to his lesson but none of the students were listening, all were talking about the two new kids in their class.

"Did you hear his accent?"

"His accent? Did you see his face?"

"His face? Did you see his muscles?"

"I saw him first"

"Did not!"

"I think Melanie did"

"But Melanie _always _gets the good ones"

"She's HOT"

"Look at those legs"

"Her legs? Look at her ass"

"Her ass? Look at her rack"

"She's the full package, I call dibbs"

"Mate, you can't call dibbs"

"I just did"

Kerry smirked to herself, knowing that 'Calling Dibbs' was not an effective way to get into a relationship with her. Glancing over at Alex the CHERUB noticed that his mouth was quirked into a charming smile and after following his gaze she saw that he was directing it at Melanie, who was giggling flirtatiously.

Kerry nodded in satisfaction, getting close to Melanie was easier than she had first thought. Kerry glanced out the window, wondering about how the others were getting on with their part of the mission.

* * *

James followed Blake through the corridors of the school and towards his first class, mathematics.

"So, I'm not sure on how your old school taught maths, but I'm sure you're a bright lad and it won't be hard to keep up with everyone else" Blake rambled on as they walked.

As they entered the classroom James caught sight of his target, Michael Jonathan. The boy was lounging at his desk, talking with his friends and laughing loudly as the teacher tried to shut them up.

"Hey guys" Michael piped up. "Look who it is showing around the new kid, Blake Snitchly" He sneered. James snorted in amusement and the boys around Michael laughed but Blake didn't respond instead he walked up to the teacher and smiled. "Sir, I was just showing around my new friend James Roberts"

"That's fine" The teacher said, gesturing for them to sit down.

"Friend?" Michael snorted, looking at James who smirked and rolled his eyes for dramatic effect, earning a round of laughter from the boys, including Michael. "Oi new kid! Why don't you come and sit with us" He stated, nodding his head at the spare desks beside him.

Blake frowned but didn't say anything as he sat amongst some of the cleaner looking students at the front of the classroom while James eagerly ditched him and headed towards the back.

"Thanks mate" James said as he sat down. "I get enough of the overachiever at home, I don't need it at school too"

"Siblings?" Michael said knowingly.

James nodded. "Two little sisters, two younger brothers and an older brother, you?"

"Two little sisters and an older brother" Michael replied. "Youngest sister's a nerd but would probably die of stage fright the minute she speaks from a group. Other sister is a mini Barbie doll" He rolled his eyes, "Does everything" James smirked, nodding.

"Sounds like my sisters Lauren and Kerry" He stated laughing.

Michael grinned at him. "Let me guess, big bro is pretty much a drop out but your parents won't let him?"

James laughed. "Mate you must be psychic or something"

Michael chuckled. "What about your other two brothers?" He asked.

"Baby brother is about four years old" James explained, smiling. "Can be a real pain in the ass but he keeps the parents busy" Michael chuckled. "And my other brother Alex is a year younger than me, he's in Kerry's year. He's this little sport pro, can play pretty much anything but will choose to not go pro, just use it to get into university"

Michael nodded. "Sounds like a full house" He smirked. "Where you living?"

James shrugged. "This big lot of apartments, owned by some guy called Jonathan or something" He said. "Mum is trying to get a job with him, because apparently he's real successful and owns heaps of businesses"

Michael snorted. "You mean my Dad?"

James looked surprised. "Your Dad?" He asked.

Michael nodded. "Michael Jonathan" He said dryly. "Pleased to meet you"

James smirked at him. "So you live, like, across the road from me? In that big fancy house?"

"Yup" Michael grinned. "You should come over after school on Friday, meet my Dad. I might even be able to talk him into giving your Mum a job"

James grinned at him, genuinely happy. "Man, that would be GREAT!'

"Yeah, yeah" Michael said. "Don't get too excited"

James sat back in his seat, smiling in satisfaction; this was the easiest mission ever.

He thought briefly about how the others were going with their parts of the mission.

* * *

Kyle slumped into class with a bored expression on his face, Harry had been blabbering on about the school opportunities and what universities he was going to apply to.

They entered their first class of the day, science, to see the teacher writing up some equations on the board.

"Class, this is Kyle Roberts, his family recently moved here from England" Harry introduced after getting a nod from the teacher.

"Do you want to tell us a bit about yourself Kyle?" Harry pressed eagerly.

"I'm British" Kyle shrugged. "If you hadn't noticed"

There were some snickers from the back of the room.

Kyle put on the bored expression. "Can I go now?" He sighed.

Harry looked slightly put off but didn't say so. "You can sit next to me"

"I think I'll pass" Kyle replied, purposefully placing a hand on Harry's shoulder and wiping off some of the grease on his hands as he moved passed and towards an empty seat at the back of the room.

The students at the back snickered again as Harry wiped his jacket delicately to get the dirt off.

"Anyone sitting here?" He asked, pointing to the seat that 'happened' to be next to his target.

George shrugged. "Nah" He said.

"Good 'cos I was gonna sit there anyways" Kyle replied, slumping into the seat.

George snorted. "Well it was that or sit next to Harry over there"

Kyle pretended to shudder. "Those guys are weird, too perky"

"I know what you mean" George muttered.

"Siblings?" Kyle asked.

George nodded. "Little sister is the school Princess" He explained. "Good grades, good at sports, good behaviour, involved with everything"

Kyle snorted. "That sounds like my lil sis, Kerry" He said. "I'm the oldest of six" He rolled his eyes. "Two sisters and three brothers"

"Harsh"

Kyle nodded in agreement. "Let me guess, you're the family drop out?" He asked.

George chuckled. "You learn from experience?" He asked.

Kyle grinned at him. "Of course"

"You wanna hang out with me at lunch?" George asked. "Saves you from having to go back to Harry over there"

Kyle nodded in agreement, hiding his excitement. "Sounds good" He said.

Briefly Kyle wondered if the others were going as well on their parts of the mission as he was.

* * *

Lauren hugged her books tightly as she followed the overly happy Hannah through the corridors and to her music class.

"So, you can hang out with me if you want" Hannah continued. "Just until you find some friends"

Lauren nodded meekly. "Thank you" She said quietly.

"You're a quiet one aren't you?" Hannah laughed. "Just relax, it's just a regular school day"

Lauren nodded, inside of her she felt as though she shouldn't be acting like this, she wasn't a naturally shy person and wasn't afraid to admit it. But for this mission to work she had to be, which irritated her.

But she dutifully ducked her head as she walked into class, following Hannah who was still smiling.

"Mr Nicholls" Hannah smiled at the young music teacher who was sitting at the piano. "This is Lauren, she's new"

Mr Nicholls smiled warmly at her, his blue eyes sparkling. "Well it's a pleasure to meet you Miss Lauren" He grinned. "You're just in time for some piano!"

Lauren nodded meekly as the teacher started to play a jazz number, nodding his head to the music.

Scooting off the side of the large group that was crowded around the piano, singing along, Lauren spotted her target, Katie Jonathan was standing alone off to the side of the group.

Slowly Lauren made her way around the group and beside Katie, who smiled shyly at her.

"Hi" Katie said.

"Hi" Lauren replied, smiling slightly.

"Not exactly a music person?" Katie asked.

Lauren shook her head, still hugging her books. "I'm more of an academic sort of person"

Katie smiled. "Me too" She said. "And I'd probably die of stage fright if I tried to sing in front of an audience"

Lauren nodded in agreement. "Same" She said, looking surprised.

They sat in a comfortably silence for a few minutes before Mr Nicholls finished his song and allowed some of the other students to have a go.

"Could I hang out with you at lunch?" Lauren asked hesitantly. "I don't really want to have to go with Hannah" She gave Katie a small smile which the girl returned.

"Sure" Katie said, obviously glad that Lauren had been the one to ask. "I'm a bit of a loner most of the time" She explained. "So it won't be anything spectacular"

Lauren gave her a grateful smile. "I didn't really have many friends at my old school anyway"

Katie grinned at her, allowing her shyness to fade away. "That's ok, neither did I"

The two smiled and began talking quietly between them as the class went on as usual.

* * *

"When is Alex gonna be home?" Joshua asked from his spot on the floor, he was had been watching Barney previously but now that the ads were on he was no longer putting all of his attention into the television. (**2**)

"Soon, honey" Zara replied smoothly, not looking up from her book, she had done a large grocery shop and had cleaned up the house but now had nothing to do as the Jonathan's weren't home yet. "Him and James are at school remember"

"Oh yeah" Joshua remembered. "When can I go to school Mommy?" He asked.

"When you turn five" Zara said.

Joshua counted on his fingers for a few seconds. "That's next year!" He gasped, jumping up. "I'm going to school next year Mommy!" He crowed, jumping up and down for a few minutes before Barney came back on and he sat down instantly, closing his mouth and shutting up.

Zara couldn't help but smile as she watched her son rocking back and forth as the purple dinosaur sang 'I love you, you love me' while singing along.

"MUM! WE'RE HOME" James' voice forced Zara to look away from her child.

"How was your first day?" Zara replied, standing up to go and meet her 'kids' as they came back from school. She knew there was a possibility of the place being bugged so they couldn't talk about their 'mission' or anything unless they went out to a secure location. "Any new friends?"

Lauren smiled at Zara. "I met a girl called Katie, she wants me to come over on Friday" She said.

"That's great honey" Zara cooed, glancing at the others who nodded.

"Alex here made a _real_ good friend, didn't he?" Kerry grinned at him.

Alex smiled. "I met this girl, Mel, she wants to show me and Kerry around town and maybe go see a movie or something"

James shrugged. "Mike invited me over Friday" He said. "Said he could talk to his Dad about a job"

Zara grinned. "That's great!" She said.

"I'm going out Friday" Kyle stated, moving towards the stairs.

Zara nodded in satisfaction, the mission was going better than expected, everything was going according to plan and couldn't be better.

Maybe this mission wouldn't be so hard after all?

* * *

******(1) It would be better for missions if the cherubs acted immediately, after after going on missions, it would be better to give that first impression, so that's what I've done. It might just be the fact that I'm an actor, but the first impression is always the most important. :)**

******(2) I'm sure EVERYONE knows Barney, because if you don't. You had no childhood :) Also, I found that kids actually do act like that. I babysit my little cousins sometimes and they'll be up and jumping through the ads and stuff then the show comes on and its like shoving a pacifier in their mouth because they don't do anything until the show is over ;)**

******Here's a longer chapter! :) Please review! They give me that fuzzy feeling! :)**


	11. Chapter 11

**WOO 100 REVIEWS! THANKS GUYS! :) I think we should celebrate! :) "PARTY ON THE INTERNET!" You guys are GREAT! Making me feel so happy and stuff!**

**And Sabsi13: Don't worry, this won't be romance, I don't exactly enjoy the romance section much so it won't be like that :) Or at least not this story I have plenty of others and a few include romance, but I don't think it would be smart to post all of my stories online ;) I think I would end up with over a hundred :) Oh, and by the way: THANK YOU SOOO MUCH FOR BEING ONE OF MY MOST LOYAL READERS AND REVIEWERS! You are amazing and people like you are what inspire me to update ASAP! :)**

**IMPORTANT:**** Alright, so if you don't get an update before the 2nd of January, you won't get another for three weeks :( Sorry but I'm going to the beach and there's no internet, no cell phone coverage, and I'm banned from bringing my laptop :( **

**But on the bright side, I get to wake up at midday every day, eat pizza for breakfast/lunch and then spend the entire day either shopping in town, tanning, watching hot guys surf, tanning, attempting to fish but then screaming at my friend's dad to 'LET IT GO' when I actually catch something, swimming with dolphins, tanning, modelling for photos because my friend got a new camera, tanning, listening to awesome music, tanning, meet some hot guys ;) tanning with hot guys, eating ice creams, taking long romantic walks to the fridge to get me another soda :), finding something really funny and start laughing, which causes my other friends to laugh and then roll around on the floor for the next ten minutes as we laugh at the fact we're laughing and meditating in the evenings to calm down enough to actually get to sleep. So yes. I will be a busy girl for those three weeks ;) And I also think that I'll look really weird with dark brown skin from tanning but then bleach blond hair ;)**

**Alright, so here's your next chapter and because I haven't done it in a while: I DO NOT OWN ALEX RIDER :( Because YET AGAIN Santa denied me of the thing at the top of my Christmas list.**

**MERRY CHRISTMAS! :) I HOPE ALL OF YOUR WISHES CAME TRUE! *grins evilly* AFTER ME! :P New Zealand is one of the first countries to celebrate xmas because of the international date line! :P All you guys in Britain and Europe are about twelve hours behind us :D! (just a little bit of knowledge for you there)**

**Right, so I'm just gonna jump right in on the action now. So I hope you enjoy it because personally I find the waiting around part of the CHERUB books kinda boring. **

**And I'm sorry if I'm changing your perceptive of anything but I just decided that I needed to get some action in and so I have done this. Please don't be angry at the change of direction this chapter does :( And just because I haven't said it. I DO NOT ACCEPT FLAMES! **

**I have a little rant right here after I was reading this amazing story written by an amazing author and she got all of these jackasses saying mean things that are just horrible. It could also be taken as a bullying rant, because that's all flamers are: bullies. **

**So I am ranting here.**

*****Swearing in the following paragraph (If you don't like swearing, just jump down to the little *** and there will be no more swearing unless you are warned :)**

******If you're a flamer, you can take out two ribs and fuck your face :) Because I don't want to hear what you have to say and I really don't care :) Nobody likes you and you will never get laid.**

**********By the way, no flames about my flame on flamers :) I know it wasn't exactly politically correct, but I don't do politically correct, it's boring. Nobody likes to get flames, because it just makes you feel bad and it doesn't help anybody, it's just a putdown. **

**************If you don't like what I have to say here, you can go find yourselves another story to read, because I'm putting this up for those who have been effect by flamers, whether you are the victim or the flamer. Not so that people can be bitches and say bitchy things because there's a place for that and it's called HIGH SCHOOL.**

*********************You're safe to read*****

**********************Sorry about that little rant right there. I'm not going to name the story, but this wonderful author was getting these horrible comments on how her story "sucked Sh*t" and how she "shouldn't bother continuing that cr*p" If you've ever said something horrible about another story that is just plain mean, (not constructive criticism) you know who you are. Remember, those sort of reviews are bullying, and bullies are just insecure meanies who feel good about putting others down. For those authors that have been effected by flames DON'T LISTEN TO THEM! It's different when it's constructive criticism that will help you improve your writing skills and help you with plot, but when the comments are just horrible put downs you can ignore them because (if you read the paragraph above) you will realise what idiots those flamers are and how they are stupid and mean and their opinion doesn't count because no one likes them :) Remember, there are people out there who will enjoy your stories, whether they review or not, and there are people on fanfic (like me) who will not tolerate horrible flames and will not hesitate to tell the flamers to F*ck off :)**

**********************Anyways: ON WITH THE STORY!**

**********************There will be swearing in this chapter :) **

* * *

Things were running smoothly for the cherubs and Alex as the weeks went on, they hung out with their targets at lunch times, befriending them and gaining their trust much quicker than normal.

That was the problem.

Alex didn't trust it, with everything going so well there had to be _something _to go wrong. He was tempted to voice these thoughts to Zara, but he knew the woman would have brushed it off as paranoia.

But he wasn't being paranoid if the danger was real.

Alex sighed to himself and looked around the dining room table at his temporary 'family', to anyone watching they were like any other family.

Kyle looked bored out of his mind, shovelling his food into his mouth so that he could escape the social environment that his parents created as they 'tried' to start a conversation with him.

James was texting under the table while shovelling food into his mouth at the same time.

Kerry was chatting animatedly with her parents about her day, how she aced the pop quiz in English, and how her friend Melanie had invited her over for a slumber party tonight and how they were going to paint each others nails, and do each others hair.

Lauren was quiet as usual, eating her dinner while still paying attention to the conversation at hand. She said once that Katie had invited her over tonight to stay over which Zara and Ewart agreed too.

Alex glanced at Kyle, the CHERUB was acting his part well, but it wouldn't be hard to look bored out of your brain while having to listen to the conversation that was happening now.

Kyle sighed and took another mouthful of his dinner. Every now and then Zara would direct a question at him to make sure he was paying attention and to his satisfaction, his one worded answers were definitely helping him, no one would miss him if he just got up and left to meet George for a party that was happening down the street. It was going to be huge, and most of the neighbourhood kids would be there, George had been invited along with a few of his friends because of his father. The guy hosting the party was keen to get in with Mr Jonathan's business, all he had to do to prove himself was show the man he could sell whatever products the man gave him, in this case it was a designer drug, ecstasy mixed with a bunch of others. Kyle had planned for it, George's father had tipped him off to not drink anything, just encase the host decided to start spiking the drinks. It wasn't unheard of for the host to put a dash of the drug in drinks to get his customers hooked and always coming back for more, it was a commonly used way to get teenagers hooked.

"I'm going out' Kyle stated as he stood up.

"Don't be out too long!" Zara called after him, she knew exactly where he was going, and although she didn't like letting the CHERUB go off to a party where there would definitely be alcohol, it was for the good of the mission, so she let it be.

Not long after Kyle had left and Kerry had taken Lauren over to the Jonathan's home the doorbell rang.

James jumped to his feet and walked over to answer it, looking over to see himself staring at Michael.

"Hey Mike" James grinned. "What are you doing here?" He asked.

Michael shrugged nonchalantly. "That party that's going on down the street, I got invited because my Dad knows the guy. It'll be huge and all the seniors are gonna be there, we'll be the only sixteen year olds there. Mostly it'll be last years drop outs this years drop outs and a whole bunch of college kids" He grinned. "So I wanted to know if you were interested"

James nodded. "I'm up for it" He said. "Are we leaving now?"

Michael shrugged. "The host is looking to go into business with my dad" He explained, knowing that James had a good idea about what his father did. He had hinted it more than once.

James glanced into the house and closed the door behind him so that no one would hear them. "Your Dad's into drugs isn't he?" He asked in a low voice.

Michael grinned and nodded. "This huge empire, he has tonnes of people out selling for him, but most of the money always comes back to us, which Dad puts into housing investments, to keep the cops off his case. He has heaps of other businesses too, most of them aint legal, but he's always got someone else overseeing progress, and keeps his tracks covered so that if things go south he can't be associated"

Instantly James was reminded of one of his first missions, where he had to befriend Keith Moore Junior. The cases were so similar it was weird the only thing different was that Kyle and Alex were now here. And now it was far more dangerous, Neil Jonathan was a director of SCORPIA and had his own branch of the company, which involved drugs.

"Your dad sounds like a smart man" James grinned. "Are we going?"

Michael frowned slightly. "If your little brother found out about this, what would he say?" He asked.

James shrugged. "Nothing, he might be a smart kid, but he wouldn't tell anyone if that's what you mean. If anything, he'd want to get in on it" He would be going out on a limb there, but if he could get Alex working for one of Mr Jonathan's businesses, it would be great for the mission. Keeping Kerry friends with Melanie while Alex gets on the good side of Mr Jonathan would move the mission on quicker and they would get much more information on how the empire worked and how to cut it down by arresting the right people. "Why?" He asked.

"Dad is looking for some new recruits, you know, take the package to the customer and bring back the money. Apparently he saw your little brother in sports class and said something about athletic talents wasted, he asked me about him, so I told him what you told me"

James nodded, remembering the conversation on his first day.

"I can ask him" James said slowly. "But you've got to remember, this is my little brother. I don't want him getting hurt" He explained.

Michael nodded. "If he's a smart kid he won't. He'll get paid good money and he can save it if he wants, most of the other kids spend it on getting their next fix, but the problem with them is that you can never trust them with a lot, because they often aren't getting the full package to the customers"

James knew he had to act hesitant to jump in on the opportunity so he nodded. "I'll just get him" He said, opening the door to allow Michael into the house.

"HEY ALEX!" James hollered up the stairs.

A blond head appeared at the top of the stair case. "What?"

"You keen to go out tonight?" James asked.

Alex cocked his head in confusion. "Why?" He asked.

"You and I have been invited to a party" James replied, jerking his thumb at Michael.

Zara appeared in the doorway. "I hope its non-alcoholic" She said sternly.

James nodded, knowing that Zara knew exactly what party they were going to. "Yeah, it's just a house party, invite only" He lied.

Nodding her consent Zara disappeared back into the kitchen.

Alex jogged down the steps and looked up at Michael. "Why am I invited?" He asked.

"I'll tell you on the way there kid" Michael replied casually, swiftly leaving the house.

Alex looked expectantly at James, who shrugged at him and the two 'brothers' followed Michael onto the footpath.

"The host of the party, Jack Ambridge, wanted to talk with you about a job" Michael said.

Alex raised an eyebrow. "Job?" He asked.

Michael suddenly looked serious. "You're a smart kid, aren't you?"

Alex continued to watch him hesitantly but gave a small nod.

"Are you a fast runner?"

Alex looked confused now. "Yeah, sprints and cross country" He said slowly.

"Can you fight?"

Alex blanched. "Yeah. Why?"

Michael nodded. "You aren't going to run off to the cops?"

Understanding suddenly dawned on Alex's face. "This is about that drug dealing thing, right? You want to recruit me as a delivery boy"

Michael shrugged. "That depends on whether you're going to nark or not"

Alex snorted. "Mate, it'd be great to get a job there. Pays good money, I can save up for a car"

Michael glanced at James over Alex's head. "You think he's up for it?" He said in a teasing voice.

James pretended to think for a moment. "I don't know Mike, maybe he's not"

Alex took in the situation, if James was trying to get him into business with Neil Jonathan he would have to act as though he wanted it bad enough to kill.

"James" Alex groaned, recognising the teasing tone in the older boy's voices. "Don't be a dick"

James laughed, grinning at Michael. "That sounded a bit like whining to me Mike, Jack won't want to hire a baby now would he?"

Michael laughed. "No, maybe the deal's off"

Alex turned to grovelling. "No, please, I need that money" He pleaded. "I'll do anything"

Michael grinned maliciously. "Anything?"

Alex didn't like where this was heading for him but he nodded hesitantly all the same.

"Back off my sister" Michael challenged.

Alex allowed his face to fall as though he were upset. "What?" He asked.

James chuckled, nudging Alex's side. "Who do you think he wants the car for?" He grinned.

Alex growled at him and crossed his arms over his chest, this was just a test and he knew it. "Why?" He asked. "Do you want her to get back with that Edmund guy again?" He asked, referring to Melanie's previous boyfriend, who was more interested in getting into her pants than getting into a good relationship.

Michael faltered a bit. "Touché" He said eventually before breaking into a grin, laying his arm over Alex's significantly shorter shoulders.

"I think I might like you kid" Michael laughed as the three walked down the streets and towards the thumping music that was growing louder and louder.

* * *

Kyle looked over at George, who was currently smoking something that the CHERUB could only describe as 'Unidentified'.

"Dude, this sh*t is f*cking insaaaane" George slurred, taking another long whiff before passing it along to the next stoner beside him.

Kyle grinned lazily at him, giving off the impression that he was completely high so that he wouldn't have to actually smoke any of the stuff.

The party was huge, drinks were being served by the host Jake Ambridge who was discreetly slipping large amounts of his newest drug into a few of them.

Suddenly Kyle glanced over at the door to see James and Michael enter, following behind them was, to his discomfort, Alex.

Kyle laughed which turned into a cough as one of the other boys took a long whiff of the substance before glancing back at Alex, who was much younger than everyone else at the party.

'_What the hell is James thinking_?' Kyle wondered irritably, he knew Alex could look after himself but it didn't stop him worrying about the younger boy.

Michael led the two 'brothers' towards Jake Ambridge, who was a large man in his twenties with broad shoulders and a wide grin on his face that screamed 'I'm here to sell you something'.

"Jake, this is Alex" He said. "You wanted to see them?"

Jake nodded. "Yeah, your father wanted me to discuss some business with you guys" Jake's grin turned almost feral. "Give me ten minutes, just head out to the back room and have a drink or two so I can get things sorted so we can have a little chat"

Michael nodded to them snatching up two drinks and glancing at Jake. "You got any water?" He asked, nodding his head at Alex.

Jake grinned again before moving away from the table for a few moments before coming back and handing over a paper cup.

Passing over one of the cups to James and handing Alex the water, Michael led the two past the partying teenagers who were literally falling over each other as they attempted trying to move on the dance floor.

Michael stopped near the edge of the house and took a long swig of his drink, watching James as he did the same. Alex took a few sips of his water and looked over at Michael again to see what he was going to do.

Michael grinned at them. "I think I saw your brother here" He said loudly over the pounding music.

James nodded. "Was he with the stoners, high as a kite?" He asked.

Michael laughed. "Yeah, I think George found some new substance and mixed a whole bunch together"

James laughed and looked over at Alex, who took another sip of his drink.

Alex swallowed heavily, his throat felt parched as he took another drink of his water. His head was beginning to thump painfully and he winced slightly.

"You ok?" James asked, noticing that Alex's face turned a few shades whiter than it usually was.

Alex blinked up at him, his pupils had grown large as he looked blearily up at James. "I dunno" He slurred.

James felt a pang of worry.

"Oh sh*t" Michael laughed. "Someone stoner must have spiked the water"

James scowled at him before turning back to Alex. "Alex, what do you feel like"

Alex swayed slightly on his feet. "I feel like I could fly" He smiled, holding out his arms. "Whoosh"

Michael laughed putting an arm over Alex's shoulders and steering him towards the back of the room. "Come on kid" He said, grinning back at James. "There's a faucet in the back room where we're meant to meet Jake. I'll take you guys over there"

James nodded and followed Michael to the far door where he pulled out a key from his pocket and allowed them to enter.

The room was dark when James entered he looked over to see Michael guiding Alex into the room.

"Later" Michael grinned maliciously at them before slamming the door closed.

It took James a second to realise what had just happened before he leaped over to the door and jiggled the handle, which was locked.

Cursing in a few languages James banged his fist against the wall. "MICHAEL!" He growled.

"Yeah James? What's up?" Michael asked innocently from the other side of the door.

"Let us out" James said.

"Nah, I don't think I will. I mean, I can't have you running back to CHERUB to tell them all about my Dad, right?" Michael replied.

James froze, how did he know about CHERUB at all?

"What are you talking about?" He asked.

Michael growled. "Don't play dumb with me James Adams, my Dad has a lot of contacts in a lot of places. SCORPIA has known about CHERUB for years. One of the board members used to be a CHERUB. We've known all about you guys and your 'mission' since you got here"

James gaped at him, unable to comprehend what Michael was saying. NO ONE knew about CHERUB. It was one of the best kept secrets Britain had.

"Surprised James?" Michael teased. "I bet you are. Your _sisters_ reacted the same way when dad confronted them"

Anger welled in James' chest, there was NO WAY in HELL that he would sit here and listen to Michael talk to him about Kerry and Lauren being caught.

"But don't worry, they haven't been physically harmed at all" Michael laughed. "My dad isn't _that _heartless. Besides, Mel and Katie have no idea what Dad does for a living. We wouldn't want them to get suspicious now would we?"

James growled. "I swear, if you hurt them at all-"

He was cut off by Michael laughing. "But you're the reason they're getting upset" He crowed. "Poor Kerry and Lauren, their family is moving back to England and they won't get the chance to say goodbye to their friends. Your _mother _will take them back to CHERUB campus for safety where they will all be updated on your condition when dad's started on you. What's the point of capturing spies if you don't get any information out of them"

James gulped, he meant torture.

"And we obviously had to drug the kid, Agent Rider has this annoying habit of escaping. My dad learnt that from SCORPIA"

James moved over to Alex and tilted his chin up to look at his pupils, which had grown larger and now completely covered his irises.

Sinking down the wall James put his head in his hands. It was hopeless, Jake would be in here soon to 'deal with them', the mission had failed, and Alex was completely useless.

This was very bad.

* * *

**Did you like it? This last part might not be that good because I wrote it all out, clicked save and the page didn't reload, so I had to type it all up again :(**

**Please review! They make me feel special!**


	12. Chapter 12

**AN: SUP GUYS! Hopefully you remembered I was on holiday! (If anyone cares I had an AMAZING TIME) So I am BACK and unfortunately about to go back to school... but I have this next chapter for you that will hopefully not end in a cliffhanger... It is also a bit (For those of you who are too lazy to figure out what that says it is 'longer' ;)**

**Enjoy and THANK YOU FOR THE REVIEWS! THEY MAKE ME HAPPY!**

"Are you sure that's what he said?" Zara asked for the fifth time, it couldn't be possible. Nobody knew about CHERUB, it was one of the best kept secrets Britain had!

Kerry nodded solemnly. "He said he had Alex and James" She repeated, every time she said it she still stuttered over the words.

Zara bit her lip and looked over at Ewart. "We have to get the kids out of here. This has got way out of hand, the CIA need to move in NOW! We can't rely on Alex to get them out of this alone and we need to contact MI6, Alex is their responsibility"

Ewart nodded mutely, slipping his phone out of his pocket and moving to the side of the room.

"Where's Kyle?" Zara asked looking at Kerry and Lauren.

The two girls glanced at each other and shook their heads. "He would have gone to the party" Lauren choked out.

Zara quickly pulled her phone out and dialled Kyle's number.

It went straight to answer phone.

"He has it switched off" Zara said, her voice breaking part way through the sentence.

They all knew that Kyle NEVER switched his phone off and that he put it on to charge every night when he went to bed.

Kyle was in trouble.

"Hey, George, have you seen my brothers?" Kyle asked in a slow voice. The group had moved on from smoking to passing around a huge bottle of whiskey.

George looked over at him groggily. "Who?"

"My brothers dude. The two blond kids" Kyle reminded him, it was his turn with the bottle, so he put it to his lips and swirled the alcohol in his mouth and making it look like he chugged it before passing it to George.

George laughed, taking the bottle but not drinking yet. "You aint never gonna see them again" He slurred gleefully.

"What?"

George giggled. "My dad knows all about you" He pointed his finger at Kyle, but it was slightly off due to his lack of vision. "The CHERUB stuff" George smiled lazily. "And I get to kill you when we leave the party" He laughed, which turned into a hacking cough. "But I didn't tell you that, cos that would muck up the plan and stuff" George put a finger to his lips before tipping his head back and taking a long gulp of whiskey.

Kyle froze, how did he know about CHERUB? Were Alex and James in trouble?

"I gotta take a leak" Kyle mumbled, staggering to his feet and taking out his phone to text James and Alex.

"Where do you think you're going?" A voice said from behind him.

Kyle turned and came face to face with Jake Ambridge.

"Hey" Kyle slurred, hoping to keep up the 'I'm-completely-stoned' charade. He quickly switched off his phone and slipped it into his pocket.

Jake nodded. "Would you mind coming out back with me, I need a hand with some stuff"

"I gotta go home" Kyle mumbled. "My mom will kill me if I'm out late"

Jake scowled at him, his expression darkening. "Come on" He said, making a grab for Kyle's arm.

Quickly the CHERUB jumped out of the way and made a beeline for the door, slipping out and sprinting away from the house.

Jake ran after him but Kyle was thin and quick, able to duck around people and weave his way out of the crowd where Jake knocked them over and was slowed down by annoyed party guests.

When Jake reached the edge of the crowd he caught sight of a dark silhouette sprinting down the street, quickly slipping his gun from his pocket he open fired at the shape. Mentally praising himself for attaching the silencer before the party.

Kyle ran for his life, adrenaline pumping through his veins as he sprinted down the street and towards his house where hopefully everything was ok.

But his hopes were short lived when a sharp pain erupted in his left shoulder and he gasped, stumbling slightly. Kyle pushed on, his hand pressing down on what he knew was a gunshot wound as he staggered down the street.

Not even trying to look back Kyle concentrated on putting one foot in front of the other as a pain like fire spread over his shoulder and made him dizzy. It was only when he caught sight of the CHERUB house that he breathed a sigh of relief.

Zara bit her lip before picking up her phone again, they had their orders, MI5 were going to do all they could to bring in Neil Jonathan, and to get to the party, hopefully before James and Alex were moved out. But they needed time to plan, they had contacted the local police about underage drinking at the house party but it would take about an hour before they were ready to go in.

Suddenly the door burst open and everyone jumped up, it was Kyle, who staggered through the door, his face pale.

"Are you alright?" Zara asked immediately, running over to check on the boy.

"Shoulder" Kyle gasped. "James andAlexhavebeen caught" Kyle managed to say, a hand clutching his arm. "They knew everything,we were played"

Zara nodded "I know" She said, slipping her arm under Kyle and helping the teenager over to a chair. "We're sending you and the girls back to campus with Joshua, SCORPIA know too much about us. MI5 is going to move in, but MI6 still haven't got back to me" She explained. "We need to get you to a doctor"

Kyle nodded collapsing in a chair.

Zara flipped out her phone again and quickly dialled for an ambulance, maybe Kyle being shot at the party would give police a reason to move in faster.

Jake scowled as he watched the teenager disappear down the road before spinning on his heel and stalking over to where he saw Michael standing beside the door.

He quickly opened the door and stepped inside, leaving Michael out.

"We need to have a little talk" Jake said calmly.

Jake looked around the dark room, he noticed that James had been standing by the door but was now making his way over to where Alex was lying, unconscious against the wall.

Jake looked over at Alex and smirked. "Poor kid's gonna feel like he has the hangover from hell soon" He grinned. "Not that he doesn't deserve it" He turned to James. "Now wake the kid up" He said, turning and walking over to the door. "I'll be back soon"

Jake left the room quickly and James began to task of trying to wake up Alex by shaking the boy's shoulders.

"Wake up Alex" James hissed.

Alex moaned. "I need my lucky charms" He mumbled opening his glazed blue eyes and staring up at James. "That f*cking leprechaun took my lucky charms" He sounded frantic as he looked around.

The CHERUB looked at Alex as though he were crazy before remembering the boy's drink had been spiked with who-knows-what.

"I need to find them" Alex tugged on James's shirt frantically. "I need to find the leprechaun that took my charms"

James sighed and pulled Alex's arm around his shoulders. "Yeah Alex, we'll find your lucky charms soon, the leprechaun went out that door but locked it"

This seemed to pacify Alex enough for James to pull him into a standing position but it was as though Alex's legs were made of jelly and he was unable to stand up by himself.

"Come on Alex" James urged, lifting Alex's arm further over his shoulder so that he was basically carrying the boy.

"Let me go find the little bastard" Alex moaned.

"Yeah, I just need you to open the door" James said, dragging Alex over to the door.

Alex jiggled the handle and looked up at James. "It's locked" He said.

James sighed. "I know it's locked"

"If it's locked, how am I supposed to open it?" Alex asked.

"Pick the lock" James replied.

Alex's eyes widened. "That would be _rude_!" He gasped before he calmed down and looked around, his mind wandering elsewhere. "They should redecorate" Alex commented. "Maybe something purple..."He trailed off as he looked at James. "Do you like purple? It's a nice colour, like a dinosaur. Do you remember that purple dinosaur, Barney? It was a good show. I think Joshua likes it, do you think Joshua would let me watch it with him?"

James had to stop himself from banging his head against the wall and pointed to the door. "We can go and watch Barney if you get us out of here" He said. He only knew how to pick a lock with a kit, which he didn't have.

Alex blinked a few times but didn't have time to respond when the door opened.

"Time to go kids" Jake boomed, grabbing James by his collar and punching his hard in the jaw.

The CHERUB gasped as his vision went black for a few seconds and by the time his head cleared he found that Jake had led him out the back door and they were being shoved towards a van.

James knew better than to resist, or at least he figured it out when he caught sight of the gun that was following Alex's head as he staggered forward.

"Now, get some sleep little kidlets, because you're not gonna get much when we get back to HQ" Jake grinned maliciously at them before the door was slammed shut and James was left in darkness.

"Alex" James hissed, feeling his way around the wall of the van towards the younger boy.

Alex moaned softly at the sound of his voice.

"Alex, we need to get out" James urged, feeling Alex's arm in his hand he came to kneel beside the boy.

"Go'way" Alex slurred painfully.

As his eyes adjusted slightly to the darkness James was able to see the faint outline of Alex, who was holding his head in his hands.

'That's what he meant by hangover from hell' James remembered briefly.

"Come on Alex, we need to get outta here. Once we get into SCORPIA headquarters, we won't get back out again" James growled, heaving Alex to his feet.

Alex gasped as another wave of pain spread through his body, he couldn't think clearly but through the fog in his mind he gathered that he had been drugged and that they had been caught. Unfortunately the pain was overwhelming and it felt like his entire body was on fire, every nerve screaming with pain which made thinking almost impossible right now let alone moving.

"Come on Alex" James repeated, holding up the spy by his arms as his legs refused to function at all.

Alex cringed away from him, his glazed eyes were squeezed shut and he obviously wasn't going to be any help right now.

James grit his teeth before letting Alex slide to the floor, who curled into a ball to try and dim the pain. Feeling his way around the walls James searched for a way out of the van but there was nothing.

Pounding his hands against the door James lashed out angrily, his fist slamming into the metal door and cursing as a sharp pain went up his arm.

James slumped to the ground in defeat, holding his injured hand to his chest as he swallowed heavily. There was no way out of this, they were as good as dead.

When the doors were opened James realised he must have fallen asleep at some point because the sun was up when Jake grabbed him up by his collar and threw him out of the van.

Losing his footing James flailed desperately before he hit the ground face first, earning a loud laugh from behind him.

Jake grabbed him by his shoulders and shoved him forward and into the arms of a short man with an emotionless expression covering his face.

"And here's the Rider kid" Jake added, grabbing Alex and picking him up before dumping him in a heap on the ground.

Alex gasped but rolled over to get up, the drug was wearing off and he could think much clearer than before.

Another man moved forward and grabbed Alex by his throat lifting him up and looking back at Jake.

"Thank you for your help" The man said impassively, his dull eyes watching Jake and analysing him. The man was an assassin, Alex could tell, he had seen a huge number of them when he was at SCORPIA. The seemingly small body that was wired with muscles, the emotionless expression that only came with experience, and the eyes, those dulls eyes that gave absolutely nothing away. Yes this man was definitely an assassin.

Jake nodded at him. "Now for the money, you promised me one million if I caught the Rider kid and his 'brother'. Here they are, so where's my money"

The man holding Alex gave a humourless smile. "We specifically asked for both 'brothers', and SCORPIA do not tolerate failure. I'm afraid the deal is off"

Jake's eyes widened. "What?" He shrieked. "That's not fair! I brought you Alex bloody Rider! That's worth ten million on it's own!"

The man raised an eyebrow and pulled out a gun with his spare hand. "Goodbye Jacob Ambridge, it was good doing business with you" There was a loud '_Crack_!' and Jake crumpled to the ground, blood seeping from his chest.

James stared at the man's body, sure he had brought them to their deaths but the man was DEAD! He took a deep breath, the image of Jake's blank expression fresh in his mind. Tearing his gaze from the dead body, James looked over at Alex, unsure of how the younger boy would react to seeing a man killed in front of him.

To his surprise Alex hardly batted an eyelid, instead darkening his expression and glaring at the gunman with a cold and calculating gaze.

"That was unnecessary" Alex said in a low voice.

The man shrugged. "It would have been a waste of one million dollars, the man did not disserve the money"

"Am I not worth that much to SCORPIA?" Alex asked. "You have me and you have a CHERUB. Congratulations, that has gained you revenge and absolutely no information whatsoever, including no money and the police know all about your director Neil Jonathan. What now?"

The man scowled. "I have been told of your quick mouth, and you are correct in that we do not expect any information. But that will not stop us from torturing you for as long as we need to until your weak little heart gives out. And as for our Director, he has taken his family to hiding at a secure location in the South of France disguised as a police officer in the witness protection program. The CHERUB is just here for our entertainment, and maybe we could get some money from the organisation before we kill him"

Alex met his cold gaze evenly. "Why the hell would you want a CHERUB?" He asked, glancing at James as though he were looking down on the older boy. "They're not worth jacksh*t"

James felt anger boil in his blood, did this kid seriously think that he was worthless? Was the reluctant and depressed spy he had been back at CHERUB campus just an act?

Growling, James tried to take a step forward but the man tightened his grip on the cherubs shoulders and restrained him from moving.

James remembered that lecture he had been given about keeping his job and his life separate. Was Alex just like those other agents? Arrogant, aloof, and cold, very cold. Alex's eyes were completely devoid of emotion and it sent a spark of fear through James as he thought of what the boy was capable of.

"Move" The man behind him growled, shoving James forward. "And don't even think about trying to run because I'll have a bullet in your head before you take two steps"

James swallowed, not willing to tempt the man as the two teens were led down the pathway.

**There we go! Sorry for taking so long, I started school yesterday and just realised how crazy it's gonna be compared to middle school and I am FREAKING OUT! Because if I don't get amazing grades in every class my parents will**

**Cancel my fanfiction account.**

**Sell my laptop**

**Pull me out of my current school and send me to the local one**

**So yes. I am freaking out.**

**Please don't get angry if I take a while to update because I write when I can and I already have a bunch of homework from each class.**

**But review! Cos they make me happy! :)**


	13. Chapter 13

**Hey guys. I am so so so so so so so so so so so so so sorry for the long wait, I've just been really busy. You'll have an explanation at the bottom of the chapter, I know how eager you guys are to read this.**

**SO WITHOUT FURTHER ADO! READ ON MY FAITHFUL READERS! :) Thank you for waiting! I really am sorry!**

James tried to keep track of how many corridors they turned down but after a minute he lost count of how many right turns and how many left turns they took. After a few minutes they came to a small cell, only a few metres long, a strong smell of decaying flesh lingered in the air making James shiver.

"You've been lucky so far Alex" One of the men hissed in the boy's ear. "But this is what happens when you mess with SCORPIA"

James was held back as Alex was forced to look into the cell, the squinted his eyes to see in the dim light and when he figured out what was in the cell, his face went blank, every ounce of emotion was wiped off in less than a second as a defeated look appeared in his eyes.

James managed to move forward slightly to see what was in the cell when he caught sight of two figures, one was a woman, long dead with a bullet between her eyes and her red hair caked with dirt and blood. Her eyes were still open as she stared unseeing into the distance, every ounce of life was gone and her skin was so pale she looked like a ghost. James froze, staring at the woman, there were other injuries and bruises over her body that looked like torture methods. The CHERUB tore his gaze from the dead woman to the other body.

It was a boy no older than Alex with black hair and a round face. A bullet wound in his chest was still bleeding sluggishly but he was lying in a pool of his own blood that showed there was no way he could still be alive. Like the women there were lacerations on his body that could only be described as painful and James looked to Alex, to see the boy's reaction.

What surprised James the most was that there was none, no reaction at all came from Alex as he watched the two figures for a few moments before tearing his gaze away to stare blankly at their captors.

"Alex..." James trailed off, he had no idea what to say, no idea what had even happened and he didn't like it.

Alex's head snapped over to him, his eyes cold, sending shivers down James' spine as he stared at him.

"Shut up at walk" One of the men said from behind them, continuing to lead the two down the corridors until finally they came to another cage, where they were pushed in and the door slammed shut behind them.

James quickly dusted himself off and watched as Alex quickly walked to each corner of the cage, disabling the security camera's before settling down in the far corner in the shadows where James could hardly see him.

"Alex, what's going on?" James asked, his voice was stronger than he expected.

There was a long pause as Alex pondered on the question. "I'm going to die" He murmured eventually.

James felt a cold sensation spread through his chest, if Alex gave up, James had no idea what to do in this situation. Sure, he had been trained for it, but never on such a large scale, with such a dangerous enemy. He wasn't even sure where Help Earth came into this, he hadn't heard a word from them since the mission started and Alex wasn't giving any answers.

"What do you mean?" He asked, his voice cracking.

Alex blinked heavily, his emotionless facade disappearing as quickly as it had come to be replace with bone-tired exhaustion. "I'm not getting out of here alive" He said wearily. "I have nothing to live for, only suffering. I'll get you out of here James, I swear, but I make no promises about whether or not I'll be with you"

James gaped at the fourteen year old in the corner. "You're giving up?" James growled, anger surging through his veins. "You're just going to give up and let them win?"

Alex snapped his head up to glare at James. "They don't win, James" He hissed. "If they kill me they're doing me a favour"

James stood up and glared at Alex. "What the hell is going on?" James demanded. "No more lies, I want answers, right now, no more classified answers, no more secrets. I want to know who the hell you are because I sure as hell don't know sh*t. And I haven't forgotten that little speech about my worth to SCORPIA not too long ago"

Alex blinked in surprise at James' outburst. "Shut. Up. James" He growled, punctuating every syllable. "You have NO idea what you're talking about"

James came forward, not taking the hint. "I don't CARE if you're a f*cking SUPERSPY! I. WANT. ANSWERS!"

Alex stared at him, narrowing his eyes. "Just sit down and shut up James. You're not helping anyone here"

James seethed, his face redder than a tomato as he looked almost ready to explode. "YOU WANT ME TO SIT DOWN? WE'RE IN A F*CKING CELL IN A F*CKING BUILDING AND WE'RE GOING TO BE TORTURES UNTIL WE DIE AND YOU WANT ME TO SIT DOWN AND SHUT THE F*CK UP?"

Alex closed his eyes for a few moments before the emotionless mask was back in place as he stared blankly at James from his corner. "Seriously James, shut up, or they'll come for you first. And if there's one thing I know about SCORPIA is that they like to play with sharp things"

James closed his mouth for a few moments before deciding it was best NOT to annoy their captors, so he sat down and glared at Alex from across the room.

It was at least two hours later when the door was finally wrenched open and the assassin that had killed Jake appeared in the doorway with a gun aimed at James' head.

"Now, no tricks Rider, or I'll plant a nice little bullet in your little cherub's forehead" The man said, gesturing towards the door. "Now, move quickly and quietly, and hold out your arms"

Alex did as he was told silently and another man came forward, handcuffing Alex's hands in front of him before he was pushed from the cell.

"No, little CHERUB, don't try anything, because you are _expendable_. Now I'm assuming that you're _extensive _training taught you a certain level of English" The assassin smirked, enjoying his time to play with his victim. "That means that I could kill you right now and it wouldn't mess with the plans at all. We don't need you here kid, but it seems that as long as you're alive, Rider will do anything to make sure you're safe. Which means more fun for us" He smiled maliciously as he looked over James like a predator watching its prey.

James felt a shiver run down his neck as he tried to sink back into the wall behind him, he wanted to be anywhere but here, hell, he'd rather be back in Russia than here with Alex.

His thoughts quickly turned back to the fourteen year old, wondering what they were doing to him at this point in time. No doubt it was painful.

Alex didn't bother struggling as he was led from the tiny cell he shared with James and down the corridor. There was no way he would escape with these two guards holding onto him tightly, and no doubt many more littering the building making any attempt of leaving impossible. Anyway, he couldn't leave James unprotected _inside_ the building that was currently housing one of the most dangerous and ruthless organisations ever established.

"Hurry up Rider" One of the men sneered, obviously a newbie, he didn't have the same level of control as the other assassins.

Alex kept his mouth shut, he couldn't get James out if he was unconscious due to an unnecessary and snarky comment.

Alex was led into a small room that smelt of rotting flesh and death. There were a pair of metal chains hanging from the ceiling and smears of blood slathered over the walls.

"Here's the brat" The new guard spat, shoving Alex forward towards the middle of the room.

It was then that Alex realised there was already someone in the room, a bulky man that couldn't have been older than thirty. He wore a plain black jacket and matching pants, if you had seen him in the street you wouldn't have noticed him at all, until you saw his eyes. Alex cringed away as the man watched him with a sadistic smile plastered on his face.

"Well, well, well. Looks like I'll be having some fun today" The man grinned and moved towards Alex, who instinctively tried to get away, he couldn't help it. The man unnerved him, in a malicious and creepy sort of way. Alex picked up the Irish accent instantly as he watched the man.

"You have one hour, Donovan(**1**)" The assassin smiled. "We do need him alive for now"

The man, Donovan, gave him a knowing smirk and turned to Alex, uncuffing his hands quickly before securing them into the shackles that hung from the ceiling.

Alex looked up at the shackles and followed the chain to the roof where it then led down the wall and towards a crank.

Donovan grinned at Alex and turned the crank, tightening the slack so that the chain was no longer lose and Alex had to stand up straight with his arms above him.

Another turn and Alex was on his toes, his arms could feel the strain in his shoulders and the spy knew this was going to be very painful.

Another turn and Alex was off the ground, his arms protested instantly but he ignored the pain and listened, Donovan was behind him now and he couldn't see what he was doing.

It was a crack of a whip that made him jump and he moved his head to see that the man was currently holding onto a long horse whip.

'_Oh God_' Alex thought as his eyes widened.

"_CRACK_!" The whip hit his back and a cry of pain escaped his lips with the shock of it. Pursing his lips together tightly, Alex was determined not to show another sign of weakness as the whip came down again, and again, and again until tears weld up in his eyes but he refused to let them fall.

After what felt like hours Donovan, whose eyes were gleaming with a sadistic pleasure, threw the whip to the floor and flicked a knife from his pocket, advancing on the already bleeding boy.

"You're mine now" He whispered as he took hold of Alex's shirt, cutting it off easily to expose his chest.

Alex struggled to move away but the older man was stronger and had the advantage. The knife was pressed down onto his skin to draw blood and slowly, Donovan drew a long line down the left side of Alex's chest.

A small whimper escaped Alex's lips before he could stop it and the man grinned at him, obviously pleased. Taking the knifes back to the first incision, he drew a large curve that reached the bottom of his first line.

Alex didn't need to look at his chest to know the man have carved the letter 'D' onto his chest.

"Now, we have a few minutes left. So what do you think Alex? Do we want to bring out a new toy or keep them until next time and just use the whip?"

Alex bit his lip and didn't reply, he _refused_ to give this man any satisfaction whatsoever.

"Oh, Alex, don't be like that" Donovan grinned broadly at him as he ran the knife down Alex's cheek, drawing blood.

Alex let out a sigh of relief when the door opened and the two assassins appeared in the doorway. "You'll have to wait until tomorrow for that" One grinned as they moved to grab Alex.

Donovan pouted, looking at his victim and giving him a hard punch in the stomach before he released Alex's arms from the shackles.

The boy fell to his knees a gasped as he wrapped his thin arms around his wounded abdomen.

"Come on" The assassin growled, the two of them grabbing one of Alex's arms each and simply lifting him off the ground with ease as they dragged him back to his cell where an anxious James awaited.

**So whaddaya think of that? I know it's kinda short... but you've got this! I'm getting my school life together, so you should get an update soon! :) Plus it IS the holidays right now, so I'll be trying as hard as possible to get out another update!**

**So for those of you who want to know the reason I haven't updated in a while:**

**I'm sure you guys have all heard about the earthquake and tsunami in Japan, (who hasn't?) and also the quake in Christchurch New Zealand. Well, I'm heavily involved with community service at my school, so we've been organising fundraisers and other activities to raise money to send to those who need it most. We've been VERY busy and on top of having exams throughout the term (and getting very high marks :D) I've really had no time to write. On top of that we've been having to read a number of books for English, so it's been hard to stay on the topic of Alex Rider and CHERUB considering I haven't read their books in a LONG time. The update should come faster soon because I'll read SCORPIA Rising and get back into things but for now it's kind of hard. :(**

**Thank you for reading my story so far! You've been amazing!**


	14. Chapter 14

**Again I am so sorry for the long wait :( Exams are coming up (I swear when I'm not on holiday I'm doing tests) and I am studying hard.**

**Please don't give up on me! I'm trying my best!**

* * *

James sat in the dark cell quietly, but while he waited for Alex to be returned he couldn't sit still. At first he had paced, to try and clear his head, but that hadn't worked considering he could take about three steps and he was at the other side. Then he sat down and started tapping his foot as he thought but the guard outside his cell told him to stop it, so he didn't want to push the man. Now he was sitting against the wall, absently picking at the floor, which was made of stone so there wasn't much to pick at other than tiny pebbles that had come loose.

It was in this position that there were footsteps from outside the cage, James jumped to his feet and moved towards the door to try and catch a glimpse of where Alex had been for the last hour.

James tried not to gag and instead stepped away from the door as the guards unlocked it and shoved the spy inside.

Quickly realising Alex wasn't conscious, James caught the boy before he hit the ground and dragged him away from the door as it was slammed shut.

"Until tomorrow, Rider" One of the guards sneered.

James looked down at his hands, suddenly realising that there was blood on them. He wiped them off on his jeans and looked at Alex. _What should I do? What can I do?_ James thought desperately.

He tentatively placed a hand on Alex's shoulder and tried to shake him awake. But when Alex didn't even stir James looked over his injuries.

His chest was bleeding, but not heavily, ripping off the bottom of his shirt James wiped away most of the blood so he could see the wound, which was a large 'D' carved into the boy's torso.

Wincing with sympathy, James put his hands under Alex's body and gently rolled him over so that he could see his back.

"Oh God" James breathed, carefully lying Alex on his stomach so that James could clean the wounds on his back. The bastards had used a _whip_. James felt sick to his stomach but took a deep breath and continued to wipe the blood from Alex's body.

One of the larger whip marks looked nasty and bright red, when James pressed down on it, Alex gasped.

James carefully rolled Alex up onto his side as the boy let out a soft moan.

"Alex" James said, forgetting his previous anger that was directed at the spy. "Alex, wake up"

Alex's eyes fluttered open and he looked up at James. "What happened?" He slurred drowsily.

James helped the boy into a sitting position so that he could get his bearings.

"You tell me" James replied. "Because I have no idea"

Alex winced slightly as he moved his shoulders. "Oh yeah, Donovan" He mumbled. He caught sight of the piece of clothing that James had used to clean off his wounds. "Thank you" He said sincerely.

James nodded, avoiding his gaze, he still had no answers, so he moved away from Alex and went to sit beside the cell door where he could pick at the floor again.

Alex let out a hiss of pain as he shifted himself to the wall so that he was in the far corner.

They sat there in an awkward silence, Alex was too busy fighting unconsciousness while James just had no idea what to say.

"Are you alright?" James asked after a very long and very uncomfortable silence.

Alex blinked up at him, a faint smirk on his lips and one eyebrow raised.

James blushed, realising it was a relatively stupid question but decided not the back down. "Like, you're not going to drop dead anytime soon"

"Not from these injuries" Alex replied, looking back at the floor.

James sat back against the wall as they fell once again into an uncomfortable silence. "I just wish something would happen" He growled out eventually.

Alex rolled his eyes. "No you don't James. Because if something happens someone will be getting hurt"

James snapped his mouth shut and continued to glare at the wall with his arms crossed. How were they going to get out of this?

* * *

Melanie Jonathan glanced out of her bedroom window, her room was all set up for her sleep over with her new best friend, Kerry Roberts, but while they sat in her room, bundled up in their sleeping bags and talking about boys, her father had come in and told Kerry she needed to go home.

* * *

_Melanie pouted as her friend was led out of the room and silently she followed. She was a naturally curious person and she hated not knowing things._

"_Don't even think about trying anything" Melanie recognised the voice as her father's, but it wasn't normal, it was cold and threatening. "I have your brothers and you run back to your little CHERUB friends and tell them Neil Jonathan is no fool" He growled._

_Melanie glanced around the corner of the hallway and saw Kerry and Lauren standing by the door, their eyes wide with fear as they stumbled back._

"_I am untouchable" Neil hissed. "So why don't you run back to your mission controller and let her know that three of her 'sons' are missing"_

_Melanie held back a gasp and watched as her father yanked open the door and pushed the two girls out onto the lawn._

"_Dad?" Melanie asked, emerging from the shadows._

_Neil spun around in surprise. "Mel?" He asked, taking a step towards her._

"_What's going on, Dad?" She asked. "Don't lie to me"_

_Neil nodded. "We need to leave honey, now. I'll explain everything on the way"_

_Melanie shook her head. "No Dad, I'm not running. I want to know what's happening"_

_Neil scowled at her. "I really don't have time for this" He mumbled._

"_Time for what, Dad? Tell me right now!" She stamped her foot, knowing she looked like a tantrum-throwing toddler but not really caring at this point._

_Neil pursed his lips. "Melanie, if you don't get in the car right now, you're going to be in a lot of trouble" He threatened._

_Melanie shook her head and turned around, running back into her room and locking the door. "I don't care!" She screamed._

* * *

There was an ambulance pulling up outside the Roberts apartment right now and the oldest boy, Kyle, was being carried into the back.

Melanie's eyes widened as she caught sight of the blood stains on Kyle's shoulder. What the hell was going on?

Her parents had left half an hour ago with Katie, who didn't quite know what was going on but refused to be parted from her mother.

So now Melanie was here all alone in her pink room, the awards and certificates that hung on the walls all seemed unimportant now that she realised her perfect life was coming to an end. This was it, nothing would ever be the same again and it was all her father's fault.

Melanie was a smart girl, she had figured out that her father was a criminal, a few minutes after they had left she had entered his study and found various packages of drugs and a few files that linked him to local dealers.

She knew he would be impossible to catch now, he had left the evidence here for a reason, he wanted to play with the police. He knew he was caught and there was no point trying to dissuade them.

Melanie let a single tear roll down her cheek as she thought of her friend and boyfriend. Kerry was safe and sound, climbing into the police car and out of danger, but where was Alex? Her father had said he had him.

Melanie moved towards the door, running across the road.

"Excuse me!" She called to one of the policemen. "Excuse me!"

The man turned to her. "Yes Miss?"

"I need to talk to you" She said quickly. "About my father, Neil Jonathan"

* * *

**Please review! They make me really happy! **

**Sorry for the shortness of it all. I just wanted to give you an update ASAP.**


	15. Chapter 15

**Hello there! Here is your next chapter! **

**I hope you enjoy!**

* * *

"What about your father?" The policeman asked. "Miss I'm going to have to ask you to step back, this is a crime scene" He added as Melanie tried to move forward.

Melanie scowled, weren't they here to catch her father?

"Oh, um, I, uh" She stammered for a few moments before Kerry's father, Ewart, appeared with an incredibly plain man in a grey suit.

"Melanie!" Ewart frowned lightly. "What are you doing here?" He asked.

"I know about my father" Melanie growled. "I know everything"

Ewart nodded quickly, looking at the man in the grey suit.

The man turned to the policeman flicking out a badge that Melanie didn't quite see. "Agent Crawley MI6" He said officially. "Officer I need to talk to Melanie here alone" He said purposefully. "She's coming with us"

The officer nodded quickly, swallowing heavily. "O-Of course, just follow me S-sir" He stammered. "They said to tell you your ride is here" He explained, leading them towards a plain black car. "The boy is being taken to the hospital and your wife will take care of things there. The girls are in the back with your son" He passed Ewart a set of car keys and unsure of what to do next, gave a salute and scampered back to secure the scene.

Agent Crawley nodded at Ewart and the two seemed to exchange a silent conversation. Finally Ewart looked away and over to Melanie, who was standing unsurely beside them.

"Alright, in the car" He said, opening the passenger door for her.

She cautiously climbed in and looked back to see that Kerry, Lauren and Joshua were all sleeping in the backseat, the older two looking positively exhausted.

Ewart started the car and Lauren blinked her eyes open. She instantly caught sight of Melanie and scowled. "What are you doing here?" She growled, a dangerous glint in her eye.

Melanie frowned at her. "If you think you can blame me for what my father did, you're wrong. I never knew any of it until tonight" She retorted indignantly.

That seemed to knock the fight out of Lauren and she slumped back in her seat, her eyes closed tightly. "It's all so messed up" She murmured so quietly Melanie almost missed it.

"What is?" She asked, narrowing her eyes.

Lauren looked at Ewart who nodded his consent.

"We're from an organisation called CHERUB" Lauren said in a low voice. "It's a branch of MI5 that deals with underage spies"

Melanie's eyes widened with understanding. "Oh my God" She murmured. "You're spies" She whispered.

Lauren nodded slowly.

"So, what was your mission?" Melanie asked quickly.

"You" Kerry said in a small voice, obviously she had heard most of the conversation.

Melanie frowned. "What? Me? Why?"

Lauren bit her lip. "Our job is to get close to the kids of criminals, get into their homes and plant bugs. Your father was the man we were targeting, Kerry's mission was you, as was Alex's"

Melanie's face fell. "So, Alex is... He's not... He doesn't actually like me?" She choked out.

Kerry and Lauren looked at her sympathetically. "Alex never gets attached to his targets" Kerry murmured quietly. "We try not to as well, it makes saying goodbye so much harder..."

Melanie sniffed and wiped her eyes. "Where is he? If you guys are here, where's Alex? And James?" She asked, glancing between the two girls for a moment before she saw the tears in their eyes.

"We don't know" Lauren blinked the tears from her eyes. "Y-You're father" She stammered. "He said he had them"

Melanie froze, remembering what her father had said. "Oh my God" She whispered, covering her mouth with her hand. "Oh my God" She repeated. "He's going to hurt them"

Kerry nodded tearfully and Melanie slumped back against her seat, watching as her perfect world crumbled around her.

* * *

James glanced over at Alex, who was staring vacantly at the wall.

"My mom died when I was eleven" James said suddenly. "She married this idiot, Ron, he smoked and drank and only ever went out to go to the pub" He said.

Alex looked at him curiously, confusion spreading across his face.

"I never knew my father and my mom never talked about him. Anyways, Ron was a total ass, stealing things from my mom, not that she'd ever notice. I've always blamed him for her death. She was really overweight, she took her pills and then Ron got her drunk. It stopped her heart. I found her that night dead on the couch. Worst night of my life" He glanced over at Alex, who was looking increasingly uncomfortable.

"I got kicked out of school that day for pushing a girl against a wall, she managed to get herself cut. She was calling my mom names, she was an all-out b*tch and I let her get to me" He shrugged. "I was in foster care when CHERUB found me, Kyle picked me out from all the other kids because I'm good at maths" He snorted. "Of all the things it could have been it was _maths_ that I was good at" He shook his head and sat back, letting the information sink in.

Alex looked over at him, looking incredibly torn, after a few moments he stumbled to his feet and managed to get over to the wall beside James.

He slid down to sit with the CHERUB and looked at his hands. "My Mom and Dad died when I was about a year old" He said slowly. "I lived with my Uncle Ian until I was about seven, then he hired a housekeeper Jack. Ian used to tell me he was a banker, that his work sent him to different countries all the time. I believed it. He had me do karate, took me on trips all over the world to get experience in all sorts of things, mountain climbing, quad biking, horse riding, anything and everything. I thought he wanted to spend time with me, because he was hardly ever around. He used to just disappear for days on end then turn up all battered and bruised. Claiming it was an accident or something. By the time I was four I could look after myself, Ian used to leave money around the house for me to buy food and I would go down to the store and buy anything I needed. At four years old" Alex shook his head and closed his eyes. "He took me to live all around Europe, made sure I spoke the languages fluently and refused to speak to me or listen if it was in English. He used to take me on business trips and just leave me in the hotel for the day, sometimes he'd come back at night, other times he didn't" Alex paused. "When I was fourteen Ian died, they said it was a car crash and that he wasn't wearing a seatbelt but I didn't believe them" He shook his head. "Worst thing I ever did was try to find out what really happened to my Uncle"

James was silent and let the information sink in. Silently in his head he was fist pumping and patting himself on the back for finally getting Alex to open up.

"Turns out Ian worked for MI6 along with my father" Alex said softly. "All those years he had been training me to be a weapon and I thought he actually cared" He bit his lip for a moment. "First I was sent to the SAS training camp Brecon Beacons, I trained with K-Unit for about ten days before I was pulled out and sent to finish Ian's mission. I succeeded and almost got killed about six times" He sighed. "After that MI6 just kept coming back, I was sent on mission after mission, I was away from school so much I lost contact with most of my friends. MI6 told them I was chronically sick or something, but I kept going back with bruises and broken bones, so people made their own conclusions. They thought I was in some sort of gang, a druggie who would hopefully OD at some point and just stop coming back"

James could see how much it was eating at Alex, the kid was a master of deception but he was still a kid.

"On my fourth mission I met the assassin Yassen Gregorovich, who I had met before on my first mission, he was the man who killed my Uncle. He ended up being shot after he refused to kill me and he died right then and there, right after telling me that Scorpia was the key to my future as it was also my past. He told me to go to Venice and find Scorpia and I would find my destiny or some cr*p like that" Alex sighed. "And, considering it was a dying man's last wish, believed him. I went to Venice, I found Scorpia and after they tried to convince me my father used to worked for them I found out the truth. My father had been a double agent for MI6, he had gone deep undercover to infiltrate Scorpia and when he tried to get out Scorpia blew him up with my mother" Alex paused. "A few missions later I found out that it was my Godfather who was the one that pressed the detonator. The bastard was a double agent for Scorpia and he killed my mom and dad to prove he was loyal" Alex choked out.

James studied Alex closely, in the dim light it was hard to see but it was clear that Alex had tears in his eyes. His hands were clenched into fists and trying not to cry.

James put an arm over Alex's shoulders slowly and the boy blinked up at him, tears spilling down his cheeks. It seemed this simple gesture of comfort was enough to make Alex crack, he let his mask fall away completely and all that was left was the broken shell of a child stripped of his innocence.

Alex buried his face in James' shirt. "They're all bastards" He managed.

James nodded. "I know" He murmured.

The two sat there for hours, James kept his arms around Alex as he released the tears that had been building up inside of him. He cried for his Uncle, for Tom, for Jack, for his parents, for his innocence. And James let him.

It was a few hours later that James realised the shaking had stopped and he looked down to see that Alex was sleeping. For once it wasn't the tense rest that looked like he was always ready to jump into action, this time he had finally relaxed, this time there were no nightmares haunting him.

Outside the Scorpia base lay six SAS units, all geared up and ready to go. At the front of those units was the MI6 agent, Ben Daniels, codename Fox.

He put down his binoculars as he spied on the facility. "We'll get you outta there Alex" He murmured in a determined voice. "Just hold on long enough"

* * *

**An: So I'm fairly happy with this chapter, after I finally managed to get it up :) I wrote it all out and pressed save and then BAM I needed to log back into fanfiction :/ I was NOT happy.**

**I'm so very sorry for the long wait, I have the normal excuses, exams, school, family, my computer and the fact that this chapter just WOULD NOT come to me!**

**But here it is, as you can see Alex and James will be rescued in the next chapter (or Fox will try ;) you never know I might turn out to be really mean and killed everyone) and Alex has finally opened up.**

**Really sorry if you think Alex was OOC, but I'm quite sure that even in Stormbreaker Alex didn't cry for his uncle. I don't think he's actually cried throughout the series, so finally letting his mask slip would be like a tsunami of emotions hitting him at once!**

**Please Review! They make me really happy!**

**Please also let me know where you want this story to head! I need some help and the more help I get the more updates there are!**


	16. Chapter 16

**Alright, so I'm not sure what I want to do after this story, but now I'm feeling anxious, because I've got some people wanting Alex to go and live at CHERUB and some people who would be really upset if that happens :/ so you can see my dilemma. **

**So... I have a poll up on my page, please, please, please vote, I'd really want to know what the majority want. And also you could vote in your reviews if you don't have an account :)**

**There will be Wolf in this chapter, hence there will be swearing, but it will be ***'d out :)**

* * *

"What do you mean we're looking for two kids?" Wolf demanded. "I thought you said two agents, one for MI6 and the other for MI5. What the hell are you talking about? Telling me these two _agents_ are two _teenagers_?" He seethed.

Fox watched him calmly as they moved towards the building. "You remember Cub?" He asked.

Wolf's face paled. "No f*cking way" He muttered. "You better be f*cking kidding me"

"I wish I was" Fox replied. "Now, is everyone in position?"

Wolf nodded quickly, suddenly all business.

"Then let's get Cub back"

* * *

James leaned his head back against the wall as he sat in the cage, Alex had been taken away only a few minutes before.

Thankfully because Alex had taken out the security cameras when they first came the Scorpia assassins had no idea of Alex's confession.

James mulled over what Alex had told him, what kind of world did he live in when innocence meant nothing anymore? Being young and innocent was supposed to protect you from the evils of the world, it was proof enough that you weren't ready to be treated like an adult. MI6 had exploited a fourteen year old boy for their own benefits, they had destroyed his innocence and subsequently they were destroying his mind.

James had seen some horrible things in his life, starting with his mother's dead body, but when he thought of all the things Alex had told him he shivered uncomfortably. It wasn't right to expose a teenager to those sorts of evils.

It was a few minutes later when he heard a gunshot and he jumped to his feet. He wasn't a religious person, but he prayed Alex hadn't done anything stupid.

More gunshots and shouting. The sound of boots thumping against the stone floor coming closer and closer, James' eyes widened.

He recognised the sound, those weren't the footsteps of assassins, they were the footsteps of trained soldiers.

Sure enough a few seconds later a group of four men burst into the corridor dressed in camouflage and carrying big black rifles.

"Hey!" James cried. "Over here!"

One of the soldiers looked over at him, for a moment he saw something resembling emotion as the soldier ran over to James' cell.

"James Adams" The soldier said, the boy nodded quickly. "I'm Fox, where's Cub?"

James blanked. "Cub?" He asked.

"Alex" Fox corrected himself. "Where's Alex?"

James pointed down the hall. "They took him about half an hour ago. Down the hall on the right" He explained.

Fox nodded to the brown haired soldier behind him. "Eagle, get the kid out. We'll go down for Cub" He said.

Instantly the three other men trooped off down the hallway while the brown haired man, Eagle, whipped out a lock picking kit.

"You ok kid?" Eagle asked him as he skilfully manoeuvred the lock pick inside the metal door.

"I'm fine, just Alex is hurt. They don't care about me, I don't know anything they don't already know" James mumbled in reply.

Eagle chuckled slightly. "Be grateful of that kid" He said. "Think of it like this, we could be bringing you out of here in pieces"

James paled slightly as the image appeared in his mind. "God, don't say that" He shook his head quickly.

There were more gunshots and James' head snapped up. "Come on" He urged Eagle who finally managed to undo the lock and the door slid open.

James went to run down to where Alex was but Eagle caught him by the back of his shirt. "No you don't kid" He said, pulling him towards the door. "My orders are clear, get you and get out"

"What about Alex?" James asked.

"We've got six units in here making sure we've got a clear path out and the best team on retrieval, everything's going to be fine" Eagle replied, directing James through the maze of hallways and towards the exit.

And it would have been, if the Scorpia assassins hadn't overwhelmed the SAS troops in the foyer. It was the only way out of the building and currently there was a huge fight occupying it.

Eagle swore under his breath and pushed James towards the far wall where the SAS troops were starting to form a line.

"Run" Eagle hissed.

James stammered for a moment before realising it was the only thing he could do, so he sprinted along the edge of the room, quickly slipping over to the door which was being guarded by SAS.

Eagle was close behind, continuing to push him. "Go! Go! Go!"

James was about to leave the building when he caught sight of Alex on the other side of the room. The boy was leaning heavily on Fox, who had a hand under Alex's arm.

There were bullets flying left, right and centre and James watched as though in slow motion as Fox and the other two men James didn't know the names of quickly hustle Alex towards the door.

They almost made it.

It was a split second that the barrier between the SAS men and Alex opened up that one of the assassins shot his gun.

"NO!" James cried as Alex dropped to the ground, Fox swiftly scooping him up as they ran.

Eagle tugged James out of the building and over towards a helicopter, Fox was close behind with Alex, who was paling quickly.

James jumped over to Alex as soon as Eagle released his arm, the blond haired soldier was beginning the stages of putting pressure on the wound and his hands were quickly being stained with blood.

"No, Alex, you can't die yet" James pleaded. "We finally got rescued! You can't just die on me!"

"Eagle, get him out of here" The dark skinned soldier growled.

"You'd better do as Wolf says" Eagle said in a low voice, grabbing James' arm and dragging him back. "He's not known for his kindness and compassion"

"But, Alex, he's, is, is he going to be ok?" James stuttered.

Eagle pursed his lips into a thin line. "Cub's been through the worst, I sure hope he can pull through this. He's in the best of hands right now, Snake's a brilliant doctor"

James lowered his head and allowed himself to be lead into the helicopter.

* * *

**Yes, I specifically left it so that you don't know where he's been shot. I still don't have any idea what I want to happen next chapter.**

**Sorry yet again for the shortness of it. I try to get over 1000 words at least before I update. :)**

**Please review and vote on my poll! I'd really appreciate it! The more people that vote the quicker I get an idea what I should do and I can write it out!**


	17. Chapter 17

**AN: I feel that most of the time I'm apologising to you, but this time I have a legit excuse. Basically, I wrote this chapter, and I wasn't really happy with it, so I went through and rewrote it, clicked save, and then Microsoft Word decides to go and freeze on me. So I'm sitting there for ten minutes and my computer just shuts down. At this point I'm rather pissed off so I turn my computer back on and rewrite the chapter on fanfiction, and just as I click save, BAM I have to log in again :( So for the next twelve and a half minutes I cursing and swearing at my computer. So I have to write it up AGAIN (saving it every two seconds) until finally I managed to write this chapter completely. ****Then I had to wait for the next FOUR DAYS because the internet wasn't working at all because of some power problem :( **

**And that is my excuse for not updating in a while.**

**So this is the final chapter of Worlds Collide and I hope you enjoy it!**

**Please Read and Review!**

* * *

_(One Week Later)_

James was sitting in class twirling his pencil around his fingers, not paying attention.

"James"

He didn't hear, he continued to play with the pencil, his eyes focused on only one thing.

"_James!_"

Still not looking up James flipped the pencil around in his fingers, blue eyes followed the piece of stationary, not daring to look away.

"_**JAMES!**_"

James looked up to see the entire class all staring at him, Mrs Ivanov was glaring down at him.

"Sorry" He muttered. "Just thinking"

Mrs Ivanov's expression softened and she nodded. "James, I think you need to go and talk to Zara" She said in a low voice.

"I'm fine" James replied instantly, grimacing at how much he sounded like Alex.

She just looked at him, her eyes full of understanding. "James" She said.

"Fine" James groaned. "I'll go talk to Zara" He growled, picking up his bag he stalked out of the room.

Zara was typing on her computer when James entered. She looked up. "Who sent you this time?" She asked sadly.

"Mrs Ivanov" James muttered.

"James" Zara sighed. "You can't keep doing this, you need to move on"

At first she got no reply, as usual her statement was met with silence, just as it had been the last few times she had said it.

"It's been a week Zara!" James cried suddenly, making her look up in surprise. "God, I was right there, and I couldn't do a bloody thing!" Running his hands through his hair wearily he sighed. "It's my fault, I should have been there to protect him, I should have realised it was a trap before we even went to the stupid party"

Zara's eyes softened. "James, there was nothing you could have done that would have saved him" She said quietly. "The damage done was too great"

James knew she wasn't just talking physically.

"He was never going to make it out alive and you know it"

James hung his head. "God, before he died, he apologised. He _apologised_ to me just before we got to the hospital, we were landing and he said he was sorry"

Zara placed her hands over his. "James, what you saw and what you went through is horrific to say the least, but do you really think that Alex would want you to dwell in the past?"

James frowned. "No, he'd want me to quit being a spy and do something normal" He mumbled.

Zara sighed. "No, he would want you to be happy. Alex was a great spy, but he didn't _want_ to be. James, you could be a great spy but only if you choose to do so. Alex was never given that choice"

James closed his eyes, he could feel the tears coming back but he didn't want to let them fall. He didn't want to appear weak and he certainly didn't want to cry in front of Zara.

There was a soft sniff at the door and Zara turned around to see Kerry standing in the doorway, she had tears smeared on her cheeks and had probably been there for at least a minute.

"Kerry, what is it?" Zara asked, she knew the girl had taken Alex's death hard. Kerry had begun to grow attached to the fourteen year old and saw him as a little brother.

She had been devastated when she learnt she hadn't been there to protect him. As had Melanie, who had gone to live in France with her mother's sister and a squad of bodyguards to make sure her father, who still hadn't been caught, couldn't find her.

"It's not fair" Kerry sniffed, wiping her eyes. "He was _fourteen_"

Zara stood up and nodded. "I know" She said softly. "But like I've said, Alex was a hero, and no matter how or where he died, his death doesn't change that. He's still a hero"

"But he's a dead hero" James murmured.

Zara lowered her gaze. "But there's nothing we can do to change that, so there is no point in dwelling on it"

James stood up. "Thanks Zara" He said quickly. "But I need to go"

Zara didn't try to stop him as he walked out the door and past Kerry, who gave a small sniff and followed.

* * *

_Many miles away at a SAS training Camp known as Brecon Beacons._

K Unit was walking solemnly through the camp on their way back from their activities. Their heads were bowed and as they walked through the drizzle back to their cabin.

There was absolutely nothing joyful about the scene, and there was no reason for it either.

The four of them dragged their feet in through the door, not bothering to take off their muddy boots.

Fox, who had been staying at the camp, looked up at them as they entered.

"Hey Fox" Wolf grunted.

"What, no hello?" Came a voice from the bed in the far corner.

Wolf smirked. "Hey Cub, they let you out of the infirmary, did they?"

Alex grinned at him. "It's been a whole week, and the doctors said as long as I don't go anywhere without supervision I'll be fine"

Snake chuckled. "Good to have you back, Cub" He said, ruffling his hair.

"It's not like you haven't seen me every day since we got here" Alex replied sarcastically.

"Don't push it kid" Wolf grumbled, although it held no real force behind it as he let out a small smirk.

Alex smiled. "So why do you guys look so glum anyway?" He asked.

"Stupid sergeant is making us get up early tomorrow for a surprise tramp" Eagle sighed.

Fox laughed. "Oh that sounds like so much _fun_" He said sarcastically. "I _envy you_"

Alex snickered.

"Oh that's good Fox" Wolf replied. "Because the Sergeant is getting annoyed that you're sitting around on your ass all day looking after Cub so you get to come with us"

The smile fell from Fox's face and Alex laughed.

"Well who's going to stay behind and make sure Alex takes his meds?" Fox complained.

"I think Alex is big enough to take his own meds" Snake chuckled.

Fox scoffed. "Fine then" He stood up and pushed a small bottle of pills into Snake's hands. "_You_ make him take them"

Alex smirked. "I'm not that bad" He defended.

"Yeah, sure" Fox rolled his eyes.

Alex laughed, MI6 had lost custody of him during his time in the infirmary. While he would be stuck at the SAS camp training with the army, he would be protected from all those who wanted to kill him and the only missions he would be given would be optional, no blackmail and no threats.

For the first time since his uncle died, things were looking up.

And it was all thanks to the cherubs.

* * *

**Had you worried there for a bit, didn't it? :P**

**Yes, you can thank SageBush for that :D**

**I had the most votes on 'Alex dies' on my poll, but really, I would in no way be happy with this story if he died.**

**Because only one person voted for Alex to go and live with the cherubs I decided he should stay with Ben/Fox at Brecon Beacons, which has the same amount of votes.**

**I hope you enjoyed Worlds Collide! There will be no new chapters although I'm not sure if I want to do a different story where James finds out that Alex is actually alive, just let me know if you want me to do that.**

**I will be going through and editing these chapters because I do know the story is rather suckish. But it shall be improved when I get the time!**

**And HUGE THANK YOU TO EVERYONE WHO REVIEWED! You guys were AMAZING!**


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